National Geographic presented the world’s first virtual live series premiere in the USA for ‘Barkskins’. The event was realized by 360Design from New York based on the ZREALITY Sphere Platform. For the start of the series, VIPs and the press were able to watch a virtual show for the first time in a “3D film set”. Instead of a cinema, they experienced the start of the series in “Virtual Cinema”, which was designed like a house from the series.
Series and film premieres are often carried out in a close circle with the actors, producers, their friends and family and selected representatives of studios, press and media before the official start. Usually, the premiere is held in cinemas or event locations, the series is experienced and actors & producers answer the questions of the press.
National Geographic, in the days of Covid, chose a completely new path that will set a milestone for marketing film and series premieres. Barkskins’ was selected as the first project. Barkskins is an American drama television series based on the novel of the same name by Annie Proulx, which premiered on National Geographic on May 25, 2020.
The special thing about the premiere is that all participants meet online in a cinema and experience the performance, series, Q&A interview with the actors in a virtual, interactive “screening room”. ZREALITY Sphere technology catapults the visitors into a 3D film set, which has been realistically recreated from the series content. You can walk through the set, look around freely and experience content interactively on your smartphones or PCs. With virtual reality glasses you get a real cinema feeling – but even more, because you are virtually standing in the film set and experience the premiere “on location in the film”. The series was first promoted via a website and then activated after a countdown. 30 minutes before the premiere, visitors enter the virtual set and can find out about the cast and details of the series in advance. After an introduction by the producer of the series, the first episode of the series starts live, which then ends with an interview with the actors.
“The quality and performance of the ZREALITY Sphere platform as well as the ability to deliver content to all devices web-based was crucial for the success of the project,” said Michael Neidhöfer, CEO of ZREALITY. “With the premiere, National Geographic reached many more users than ever before, setting a milestone in the online marketing of series and movie content”.
You can find more information about the series premiere here:
https://barkskinspremiere.com/
Experience the screening room live here:
https://screeningroom.barkskinspremiere.com/index.html
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