Initial prompts

We began by distilling our questions.

What are the opportunities and constraints in virtual or remote theater production and experience?
What factors, systems, stakeholders, motivations, technologies and considerations are involved?
How are they related to each other?

Secondary research

We read academic studies, solutions and approaches that used virtual reality to translate the theatrical tradition. Many studies and academic papers in cognition, embodiment and immersion were also found to be related. We also looked at novel technology implementations.
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Gathering insights from many journals, scholarly articles, experiments, technology implementation and research paper, we informed ourselves on the subject matter as much as possible and looked at the current approaches people have taken in this situation.

See the full list of secondary research references here.

Mess Mapping

By looking at the bigger picture, we mapped out the interconnections within the system. This way we could effectively locate and refine the area(s)/aspect(s) in which to conduct more nuanced interviews and user research.

Research Methods

Interviews with actors, technicians and experts
Surveys within students and faculty of ITP Dance department at NYU
Fly-on-the-wall observations: 5th Wall Forum is a virtual event on Dec 4th and 5th bringing together industry insiders from the theater and technology worlds to create opportunities for new kinds of virtual performances for paying audiences. They will have a free masterclass which we can observe for more insights.

Interviews

Riddibesh: Stage actor for Bengali theatre in Kolkata, India. He works as a freelance actor with different productions.
Todd Bryant: Professor NYU Tandon School of Engineering. He works with the novel implementation of technology methods like virtual production, motion capture, green screens, game engines, lighting, etc for live events, film sets, broadcasts, etc.
Arnab Chakravarty: Recent graduate and current resident fellow at Tisch as an alumni. He has been working in immersive theater dealing with real-world analog physical production.Joshua Reed: film school student @ NYUJessenia Ingram: actress in Atlanta, Georgia
oshua Reed: film school student at NYU
Jessenia Ingram: actress in Atlanta, Georgia

Insights

Pros

It is easier than ever to collaborate with others (cross countries and interdisciplinary)
New affordances to involve audience (chat feature, waiting room, etc)
Auditions can use zoom green screen for better effect
Some roles can find job opportunities in other industries that require similar skill sets

Cons

Timing is impossible to master on virtual conferencing platforms
Auditioning and working with actors virtually poses a brand new set of challenges
Many theaters are struggling financially, and would be hesitant to undertake interventions involving emerging technology
The constraints of XR technology
Zoom fatigue

Stakeholder mapping

We categorized different roles and players involved in theater production according to whether their job requires an entirely new skill, just adapting an existing skill, or use the same skills but different methods of execution. We also added new players in the map (like game designers, 3D modelers, XR engineers, virtual production engineers, etc.) who might find opportunities in theater.

Fly-on-the-wall observation: 5th Wall Forum

On Dec 4th and 5th, we attended an online event called the 5th Wall Forum. There were some great discussions about producing virtual theater, whether using social VR platforms like Altspace and VRChat, or a bespoke experience. The goal of the forum was to start discussions to bring theater, tech, gaming and film professionals together.

Some of the people involved in the panel discussion were Brandon Bradley (alumni of NYU Tisch Drama), Brandon Powers (creative director), Sadah Espii Proctor (story, director), Anna Henson (artist/researcher in HCI, technologist), Blair Russell (freelance producer), Beth Kates (dramaturgist, playwright), Jonathan David Martin (actor/virtual performer).

We gathered as much info as we could from the community and speakers.

RBT Analysis

After affinity mapping our research findings, we narrowed down our design directions into four categories: audition practices, technology, collaboration, and skill sets. Ultimately, because of how much opportunity presented itself in the collaboration space, we decided to move forward with that design direction. At the beginning of our design process, we considered problems including the similarities between live coding and live performance, resource sharing between theater/production companies, and global communication patterns.

Persona

Creating a user profile that could use our design solution - Parados.

A service design solution

Parados is a resource and community platform that connects people in theater, film, game and tech. The landing point is a website where people can hire talent, offer freelance services, look for tools, learn skills, and find community forums. Our mission is to democratize immersive tech and build a cross disciplinary network for the theater industry to share, grow, and create opportunity.

Feature Prioritization

The features that we felt were most important to include in our final product were: a thorough onboarding process, a job forum, and a community/collaboration space.

We felt that the onboarding process was an important part of the platform because it would allow for users to easily find talent with specific skill sets on a platform used by so many different people. The onboarding questions will help to filter the search information to better suit the needs of the user.

Site map - Information architecture

Since the website has various facets – community, hiring, resources, rentals, learning, etc. – it was important to map out the flow of information by creating a site map.

Job Forum

‍The job forum is a place on the website where Parados users with different skill sets are able to display their talents and offer their expertise and services to a virtual production. Similarly, users are able to use the job forum as a place to browse for experts with experience and interests that are aligned with their needs. For instance, a game developer with experience creating virtual environments might use the platform as a way to get in touch with a director looking for a unique VR scene for an upcoming production.

‍Community and Events

‍Finally, the community and collaboration space is an integral part of the platform because it will allow users to freely interact with each other and casually share advice, experiences, and resources amongst each other. Events in different social VR platforms, discord servers, and so on, will be featured in the events page.

‍Company partners and funding

‍Because the pandemic has been so damaging to many theaters and artists, it is imperative that those who need financial help during this time are able to easily find funding opportunities. The website will host forums, conferences, and meetups where theater makers can find investors, theater grants, and other entities that might help them stay afloat during this huge cultural shift.

‍Equipment rentals

‍We also thought to include a rental system to rent out VR and AR headsets, greenscreens, cameras, sound recording and other equipment so that it is cheaper for new users to experiment with these new technologies. A section of the website will also provide support and tutorials for setting up these technologies.

‍Learning

‍Parados will partner with LinkedIn Learning and Skillshare to accelerate bridging the skills gap for creating content on some of these digital mediums.

Parados

Problem Statement