Wiener Sängerknaben : Rich content experience [interactive live streaming]

Aarya explores ways to provide remote audiences with a sense of involvement in live concerts, of belonging to what happens on distant stages, and an edgy but irresistible challenge to participate.

The bespoke music projects are developed according to the principle of rich content which includes two parallel concepts –

a live documentary which combines the concert with a story about this concert, does not interfere with the music, and is broadcast in real-time typically to TV or cinema screens but could also be streamed to tablets or smartphones an interactive platform which offers viewers or listeners the programme of the concert, its pieces or songs, their scores, lyrics and origins, anecdotes about performers, composers and designers, but also the possibility to buy from a curated eShop or to share with friends and family – this contextualising content is typically accessed through second screens, before, during or after the concert

Rich-content projects aim at enhancing the concert experience of people who enjoy music in the concert hall and even more the musical participation of the ones who don’t have that chance, up to the point where they will be able to say “I was there”. 

Rich-content broadcasts can be enjoyed alone, and their shared experience – in a pub or a cinema – can be further enhanced, for example by organised sing-along.

Delivering the best possible user experience to both live and remote audiences faces a few technical challenges –

designing adaptive user interfaces that respond to different screen sizes (smartphones, tablets, PC, TV and cinema screens) and different use cases: live audiences using smartphones as an e-Programme during and in between performances, remote audiences watching both the live documentary on a TV screen and the contextualising content on a tablet, or even a fully aggregated experience on a single laptop. synchronizing first and second screens, so that the interactive platform shown on the second screen is linked to the live documentary on the first screen, e.g. lyrics on the second screen synchronised with the song being performed on the 1st screen. real-time editing and streaming of live captured and pre-recorded content in order to broadcast the live documentary with minimal delay. That’s the condition for a true 'live' experience for the remote audience, which can even allow them to 'interact' with the onsite audience through social media.

On 12 December 2013, Aarya and Flagey, in close collaboration with TV Brussel, Musiq3, Cinematek and ReMuA, will playfully test the user experience as well as enabling technology for the two concepts of rich-content productions. Every feedback will be most welcome.

Flagey, Festival van Vlaanderen Brussel, Festival de Wallonie, ReMuA (Réseau de Musiciens-Intervenants en Ateliers), OstbelgienFestival, Austrian Embassy, Communauté Germanophone