Industry

At Conecta Digital (Madrid, November 5-6, 2024) industry experts M. Chiara Duranti, chief editor of Formatbiz, and Kara Kandarakis, founder and CEO of Triforce Entertainment, took the stage to dive into the transformative potential of immersive digital storytelling. Their keynote, titled Narrative in New Digital Forms, offered a compelling look at how VR, AR, and XR technologies are reshaping content creation and audience engagement.

Kandarakis began by providing an enlightening perspective on the long journey of VR and AR. While the US military first developed virtual reality in 1974, it only entered commercial markets in recent decades. Even so, VR and AR haven’t reached mainstream adoption, largely due to a critical disconnect between tech developers and storytellers. She described this as a “ravine” between technology experts, who focus on the mechanics, and creators, who prioritize narrative flow. The challenge, she emphasized, is not in the technology itself but in execution: integrating it meaningfully to enhance storytelling.

Unlike typical approaches where VR or AR elements are added post-production, Kandarakis advocates for integration from the start. This approach allows narratives to evolve alongside technological capabilities, making the experience immersive rather than gimmicky. By aligning the production process to support VR and AR from scripting through post-production, Triforce Entertainment strives to blur the line between viewer and story.

Kandarakis illustrated her method using a unique live-action VR setup, where she films 2D and VR content simultaneously, ensuring consistency and cost-effectiveness. Her work integrates a seamless, 360-degree experience into interactive storylines using game engines, where viewers are no longer passive spectators but participants. This cutting-edge integration creates an immersive environment without controllers—just a headset, allowing users to embark on multiple narrative journeys and interact with 3D objects naturally.

Both speakers also addressed the limited appeal of consumer VR headsets, suggesting that location-based activations are a more practical solution. Kandarakis shared examples from collaborations with brands like Porsche and Hugo Boss, where immersive, interactive experiences are held at flagship locations. These events drive viral advocacy and brand engagement, creating a “stampede effect” among consumers who experience the technology in a memorable way.

Another highlight of the keynote focused on how AR can revolutionize ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD). Duranti noted the crowded landscape of subscription video services, emphasizing the potential for immersive, narrative-driven ads. Rather than interrupting viewing, these ads are woven into the story, enhancing retention and engagement. Kandarakis’s work leverages AR to seamlessly integrate product interaction, allowing users to pause videos, explore items, and even make purchases—a forward-thinking model of interactive e-commerce.

Kandarakis also shared an ambitious vision involving haptic suits with heating and cooling sensors, exemplified by a training experience created for an oil rig. Users in VR could feel heat and cold while engaging with a story-driven narrative. In an entertainment setting, such as a “Mission Impossible”-style narrative, users might feel their muscles tighten or experience temperature changes, deepening their connection to the story and character.

Perhaps one of the most striking insights from Kandarakis's keynote was the powerful psychological impact of VR. Citing studies that show VR’s ability to trick the brain into feeling real-life experiences, she noted that VR storytelling boasts an engagement rate starting at 70%, which can rise to 90% with narrative integration. Such a high engagement rate dwarfs that of traditional TV, making VR not just an innovative storytelling tool but a profound way to captivate audiences.