Co-ordinating groups of participants

Depending on how you are planning to show your film, the logistics and co-ordination of groups of people will be very important. There are several ways to do this – here’s how…

You have now produced a great VR film and you want to take it out and about and show it to people. When exhibiting to large groups, there is a play-off between wanting as many people as possible to see your film, but also for them to have a positive experience and not feel rushed through. You many also want to get feedback on your film after the participant has viewed it. Depending on whether you are exhibiting to a class of students, or at a county fair, your strategy and considerations will likely be very different.

‘Contained’ groups, for example a classroom setting

There are many reasons why exhibiting a VR film works well in a classroom setting. Firstly, participants are already at schools so they are likely to be in a ‘learning’ frame of mind, they can’t get up and walk off and it gives the exhibitor a great opportunity to get feedback and lead a peer-to-peer discussion about the film.

In respect of co-ordinating the viewing of the film, there are two ways to do this. Depending on how many VR kits you have, you can split the class into sub-groups and set each sub-group up with the film one after the other, staggering the start so that there is a constant stream of viewing. Alternatively, it is possible to link all headsets together using a WIFI router allowing you to synchronise all control the play, pause and fast-forward functionality yourself by remote. This may appear a fantastic solution, however, there are considerations to bear in mind. WIFI routers will increase the project spend and will only work where the WIFI is available and reliable (unless you buy a 4G data plan). This for example, would not work in a county-fair style setting. Splitting the groups and manually starting each video is a safe option if you do not wish to rely on technology or pay extra for a WIFI router. Further, staggering the viewing will give exhibitors the opportunity hold a discussion with the class perhaps before and after viewing.

Exhibition-style, for example a county fair

County fairs and similar exhibitions are a great way to get your film noticed by a wide cross-section of society. There are, however, different things to consider. Obviously, the security of your kit is at greater risk than in a classroom setting. Therefore, it’s probably best to only use a number headsets that the exhibitors can clearly manage. If there was one exhibitor from your organisation and 30 VR kits, it is unlikely that they will be able to keep them safe or disseminate information effectively after participants have watched the film. In this situation, it is more likely that the participant will watch the film and walk off afterwards and a great opportunity to educate the participant has been lost.

The number of personnel present is also important if you are looking to collate feedback at such events. If you have feedback cards, it may be a good idea to give this task to one of your team to ensure that they ask people to fill out a card and that it is completed and returned to you.

Irrespective of where you decide to exhibit your film, keeping control of the kit is critically important. This way, your kit stays safe and you have the opportunity to collate feedback or disseminate information effectively, whilst making the viewing experience memorable and impactful for the participant