Belgium’s Barco wants to give video gamers and sports fans something to cheer about and a reason to get off the couch with the latest version of its Escape experience. The Barco Escape technology utilizes three different movie screens, each with a dedicated projector, taking the big-screen experience to the next level in a movie theater or custom venues for eSports -- Barco took notice of the 11,000 League of Legends fans packing Madison Square Garden last month.
“You can see the players, the stats, and the action (each on different screens). It’s perfect for this and we see a big future in this industry,” said Ted Schilowitz, Barco Escape’s creative lead who also serves as the Fox Futurist for Twentieth Century Fox. “We’ve demoed it for some gaming companies and I’ve had grown men hugging me afterwards, saying, ‘Thank you!’”
The technology utilizes modern camera technology, most of the three-screen syncing is done in post-production, and then projected onto the screens which are installed at a 105-110 degree angle off the center panel, essentially creating peripheral vision or making those second -- and third -- screens larger-than-life.
But it is more than just a wider field of view, the side screens need not be synced and can be used to show a different point of view from the main screen or statistics or teammates.
NEW DIMENSIONS: That is where eSports and even viewing traditional sporting events may take on a new dimension.
The tri-screen setup creates the opportunity for onscreen cutaways and captures off-field action on-camera, in real-time and in a dynamic way -- consider that the main screen could be showing the final pitch of the World Series with the side screens displaying the tension in both dugouts or fans’ faces. Then as one team celebrates, the elation and disappointment of fans could be shown on either side or even the losing team heading into the dugout.
Schilowitz noted that there is a Barco Escape experience on the Fox studio lot in L.A. -- which is also home to Fox Sports -- adding, “We’ve been deep in discussions with Fox Sports about bringing sports into this environment. We’ve done testing with a big-time sport, it’s one of the big ones, and we’ve already put sports up in this environment. It’s going to happen.”
Schilowitz said that the costs are not much higher for content producers since most productions are multi-camera shoots already and the brunt of the approximately $100,000 bill will be borne by exhibitors. Consumers will likely pay a fee that ranges from $3-$8 at theaters that have already adopted the technology, although many are waving that surcharge for premieres.
POTENTIAL APPLICATION: The eSports and real-world sports organizations likely would not pay to play on Barco Escape, as they would be content providers akin to movie studios. Venues such as Madison Square Garden that host eSports or other events would be the buyers of specially crafted, “premium” experiences that would be much larger than the commercial theater screen proportions.
Currently 20 cinemas worldwide have deployed the Escape experience, 16 of them are in the U.S., but Barco is looking to grow that number with what it claims is an improved viewing experience since its debut last year for “The Maze Runner.” Fox doubled the amount of footage in Barco Escape for the sequel, “The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials,” which debuted in the U.S. on Friday. Barco said that audiences in Mexico City have sold out the city’s lone theater with Escape since the film premiered there last week.
Barco has a five-year deal with Fox and director Jerry Bruckheimer has also signed on to create two movies, providing a pipeline for content that theaters can bank on to draw an audience.
