Sony - FUTURE PROOF : What is the Future of Immersive Venues?
The lilt of birdsong is heard alongside upbeat instrumental music. Inside a music venue, a crowd watches as a bearded middle-aged man in a black suit, Murray Hidary, plays a grand piano covered in green moss. A white logo appears in the top right corner of the screen.
ON SCREEN TEXT: SONY
MURRAY
“I created MindTravel to create a sense of connection with nature through music.”
The performance appears onscreen in a bubble over a green background. A white line connects the bubble with white text in the bottom right corner of the screen.
ON SCREEN TEXT: What is the future of
Immersive
Venues?
The birdsong fades, leaving only instrumental music. On a new green background, a wipe motion from the top left arcs downward, revealing a young Japanese woman with her hair pulled back video-chatting from a home-office. White text runs vertically along the edge of her video.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Nao Kondo
Artist & Entrepreneur
Another circle arcs open from the bottom right of the screen, revealing another young woman who is African American and wearing a white top with red hair. She is video-chatting from her home office. White text runs vertically along the edge of her video.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Diana Sinclair
Artist & Activist
Nao speaks in Japanese, and a translation appears in small yellow subtitles at the bottom of the screen.
NAO
“Hey Diana! Long time, no see.”
Diana, speaking in English, smiles and waves as she responds.
DIANA
“Hi Nao, I actually just finished meditating.”
NAO
“Oh cool, how do you do it?”
DIANA
“Well lately I’ve been using music as a form of meditation. It’s been pulling me into a much more positive mindset.”
NAO
“Actually, there’s a type of meditation that combines music and new technology. Are you interested?”
DIANA
“Yeah!”
Outside, street signs mark the corner of Broadway and West 46th Street in New York City. A crowd of pedestrians cross at a crosswalk. Murray walks down the sidewalk and enters Sony Hall. Inside, Murray interviews in the dim theatre. A green bubble with white text appears beside him.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Murray Hidary
Composer
MindTravel Elemental Creator
MURRAY
“MindTravel is an immersive musical journey that aspires to connect participants to this movement of meditation through music.”
A new bubble appears as a crew is seen setting up the stage for the performance.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Sony Hall
Times Square, New York City
The crew rolls out green, grass-like mats on the floor and places round green cushions on them for the audience to sit on. The moss-covered piano is carried on stage.
MURRAY
“I’m really trying to transport the audience.”
A woman with straight brown hair wearing a navy blue blouse is interviewed inside the venue. A green bubble with white text appears beside her.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Annie Meltzer
Director
Blue Note Entertainment Group
Sony Hall
ANNIE
“Sony Hall is equipped with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. It encompasses thirty speakers that are strategically placed in the venue to give you sound from all sides of the room so you can not only hear the music, but feel it as well.”
Preparation for the show is in full swing. Murray crouches down on his haunches on one of the green mats and closes his eyes to listen as he does his sound check.. A sound engineer fiddles with a mixing board. Murray smiles as he listens.
MURRAY
“It occurred to me to create partnership with nature here in the heart of Times Square. Where through this incredible 360 Reality Audio, I could bring nature to completely envelop us, because if we can find that stillness here, then we can find it anywhere.”
A time lapse shows an audience slowly filling Sony Hall. Behind the green mats and cushions, rows of chairs offer further seating. Flowering trees appear on stage as set decoration, and to the left and right of the first row of audience seating.
A man in glasses interviews in the dim venue. A green bubble with white text appears beside him.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Jordy Freed
Head of Partner Marketing & Strategy
Sony Corporation of America
JORDY
“The beauty of the technology for 360 Reality Audio is it’s truly going to transport you to the place that the creator wants to take you, and you get to experience that different role as a listener.”
Murray steps to the front of the stage and bows to the audience. He narrates over footage of himself playing piano during the performance.
MURRAY
“Music can so quickly, so effectively, drop us back into what matters most. That one note clears away the stress, the anxiety, the meetings, the phone calls, so that for the hour that we’re together, we can reflect.”
The music in the film fades and audio of Murray playing the piano and sounds of a naturescape fade in. Some audience members watch in rapt attention, while others sit cross-legged with their eyes closed. Annie sits in the audience with her eyes closed and tilts her head back peacefully as the sound of birdsong fills the space.
ANNIE
“I can hear birds coming from the distance off to the right, and there was this roaring thunder, and it was like, above me.”
The sound of thunder echoes through the venue. Jordy interviews as Murray continues to perform, and the sound engineer delicately adjusts the mixing board.
JORDY
“You’re entering another universe. It literally supports the fan coming in to create that mindfulness and transport themselves”
A young woman stands in Sony Hall to interview after the performance. A green bubble with white text appears beside her.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Jenn Harrington
Attendee
JENN
“This MindTravel Elemental moment was very relaxing and calming, and kind of let me center myself in my thoughts.”
The audience applauds, and Murray stands beside the piano smiling. He clasps his hands together gratefully, then walks off stage. Annie interviews.
ANNIE
“Doing this experience with Murray really opens the doors for us to do a lot of other amazing experiences at this beautiful venue, and I can’t wait to start thinking about what we’re going to do next.”
Nao and Diana video-chat again over a green background.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Nao Kondo
Artist & Entrepreneur
ON SCREEN TEXT: Diana Sinclair
Artist & Activist
Nao speaks in Japanese, and a translation appears in yellow subtitles at the bottom of the screen.
NAO
“I never realized how being transported somewhere through sound could be so healing.”
DIANA
“Well, where would you wanna go?”
NAO
“I’d love to go deep inside the sea.”
They both laugh.
NAO
“How about you Diana?”
DIANA
“Well, I love it when sounds take you somewhere visual, like a film or a movie. I mean, for me, when listening to music it takes me to a whole other, like, place and time in my mind.”
NAO
“Maybe when we talk remotely in the future, the sound will make it feel like we’re in the room together!”
DIANA
“I cannot wait for that!”
A blue screen splits into two bubbles on a green background. The left bubble has a white logo.
ON SCREEN TEXT: FUTURE PROOF
Japanese text appears underneath. Another white logo appears in the right bubble.
ON SCREEN TEXT: SONY
The instrumental background music fades.
Colors pulse outward with a ding from the center of a dark background. A white logo centers a black background.
ON SCREEN TEXT: SONY