Scatter caught up with HTC VIVE ORIGINALS to share story behind Light the Night: Redhat Killer, the latest release on the BEATDAY platform. VIVE ORIGINALS stands apart from the other platforms through their Holographic Concerts that make use of volumetric video to bring artists, performers, and even the audience in the virtual world. Recently, they premiered an interactive experience featuring Depthkit Studio's volumetric livestreaming integrated into BEATDAY. Fans  transported themselves into BEATDAY in real time!

Check out our interview to learn how HTC VIVE ORIGINALS BEATDAY has made volumetric video an essential element to their Metaverse platform.

‍

Scatter:
Your team is leading the way in creating Holographic Concerts in the Metaverse. For anyone reading this that hasn’t experienced that yet, please fill us in. Tell us more about HTC VIVE ORIGINALS and BEATDAY. What is your vision for holographic concerts on BEATDAY?

HTC:
A CONTENT brand under HTC VIVE, HTC VIVE ORIGINALS is devoted to producing and distributing original XR content. It incorporates core technologies, including volumetric capture, blockchain, and XR to explore the development of industries including film, arts, music, and the metaverse. Thirteen original XR works have been nominated for 71 international film festival awards, including the Tribeca Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival.

BEATDAY is a multi-entertainment metaverse. Becoming one with the revolutionary technology of XR, blockchain, and NFT, BEATDAY is accessible for cross-device entertainment and, of course, immersive content, including music, theater art, gaming, and more.

We position BEATDAY as an all-around metaverse entertainment platform. We aim to establish a complete metaverse entertainment ecosystem. We integrate entertainment IPs, 3D animation, game interactions, volumetric captures, online systems, and other technological processes to create innovative entertainment experiences that combine traditional and virtual productions. In addition to concerts, we will gradually launch various types of XR entertainment content, including immersive dramas, music festivals, theme parks, shows, Vtuber performances, and more.

Volumetric capturing technology is currently the best and most efficient way for live-action performances to enter the Metaverse

‍

Scatter:
You worked with some big IP on this release. What is the origin of the Light the Night: Redhat Killer story world? What about that story do you feel is special for bringing into the BEATDAY holographic concert platform?

HTC:
The original story was set in the late 80’s in Taiwan. Back then, alongside many business trades between Japan and Taiwan, the street, Linsen North Road, became the most popular place with various bars where many business people went at night. The story begins with a mysterious murder case in the bar, Hikari, and the staff ' hostesses' were all suspicious. 

BEATDAY has officially launched the idea of a “virtual entertainment park”. As the original story was categorized as a mystery genre, we think it is possible to extend the world to our metaverse platform BEATDAY and make it a whole new drama with detective games to provide users a more immersive experience. 

^{*Note: this trailer's volumetric video was not created with Depthkit.}

The original [Light the Night] story was set in the late 80's in Taiwan. Back then, alongside many business trades between Japan and Taiwan, the street, Linsen North Road, became the most popular place with various bars where many business people went at night. The story begins with a mysterious murder case in the bar, Hikari, and the staff ' hostesses' were all suspicious.

‍

Scatter: 
You used Depthkit Livestreaming to create an experience at the BEATDAY pop-up event for Light the Night: Redhat Killer. Before we dive into all the details of that, can you share more about how you expand the BEATDAY world this year? 

HTC:
We would like to create the world’s first metaverse entertainment theme park where users can enjoy music gigs and other entertainments like watching dramas, playing games, etc., on our metaverse platform BEATDAY.  

Light the Night: Redhat Killer is the first immersive drama project in BEATDAY.

We are going to work with various content creative teams around the world and aim to provide diverse entertainment experiences.

‍

Scatter:
What was the experience that you created using Depthkit’s Livestreaming capabilities at BEATDAY? How did fans and audience engage on location?

HTC: 
Volumetric capturing technology is currently the best and most efficient way for live-action performances to enter the Metaverse. BEATDAY has successfully displayed a variety of performance forms in our Metaverse. With the Depthkit's Livestreaming live broadcast function this time, we made our audience experience the charm of the Metaverse more personally.

We have designed a mobile APP that combines location services and augmented reality (AR) to allow viewers to reach our physical store through tasks and then transmit the volumetric video of the audience using the Depthkit’s live broadcast function to the BEATDAY scene, allowing them to interact with each other on the spot or check in at other communities.

‍

‍Scatter:
VIVE ORIGINALS is clearly one of the world leaders in using volumetric video for making immersive experiences that engage fans and audiences. To create these experiences, you’ve now used both large capture stages as well as Depthkit’s portable and livestreaming volumetric video system. Can you describe how you see the different types of volumetric video fitting together in the ecosystem? How are they unique both creatively and technically?

HTC:
No matter what volumetric capturing method people use, it is the media carrier of information. It might be a nod, a word, a dance, or a song. Each method has its advantages and technical limitations. VIVE ORIGINALS constantly tries every combination in various scenarios to choose the most appropriate and effective solution. We will roughly divide it into three levels:

High level: High-quality art performances, such as music concerts, interactive theater performances, etc., are usually pre-recorded and then streamed to the client.

Medium level: Real-time interactive experience, mainly focusing on low latency and real-time interaction. Such as Depthkit Live.

Fast level: Lightweight and low-threshold popular volumetric capture service, With a single camera lens, it can produce volumetric capturing results, allowing viewers to quickly obtain volumetric results without being limited by hardware.

We often mix two or even more detailed subdivisions in a project to give the audience the most immersive experience in a specific situation.

‍

Scatter:
Now that you’ve launched Light the Night: Redhat Killer, what are you working on next? What type of experiences, stories and technology breakthroughs can fans look forward to seeing on BEATDAY soon?

HTC: 
In addition to volumetric capture, performances will explore different types of shows such as 3D live streaming and motion capture, in the future. The audience's experience will incorporate more game-like elements and real-time interaction to increase player engagement and create a fully immersive experience. Furthermore, besides trying more diverse entertainment content, we hope to expand our partners globally and increase platform openness so that artists, creators, entertainment IPs, and virtual production companies worldwide can join and collaborate with us. Interested partners can contact us to create more possibilities for the future together.

‍

We often mix two or even more [volumetric capturing methods] in a project to give the audience the most immersive experience in a specific situation.

‍

Thanks so much to HTC VIVE ORIGINALS for sharing your insights with our community. BEATDAY is available now to download on macOS and Windows.

‍Are you inspired to add Depthkit Livestreaming to your interactive platform? Reach out to sales@depthkit.tv today to schedule an integration consultation and demo.

‍