Games for Change Tallies International Impact of VR Doc ‘On the Morning You Wake’

The ongoing and ever-growing need to connect accomplished artistic works with sophisticated viewers has given rise to a new and altogether idiosyncratic new post within the XR ecosystem the impact producer. Rather than chase after indiscriminate revenue, the impact producer focuses on audience returns; rather than aiming for the largest possible public, the impact producer targets the right one.

An impact producer is more focused on a mobilization strategy, which works in tandem with a distribution, says creative strategist (and impact producer) Michaela Ternasky-Holland.

Were driven by our specific, targeted audience, she continues. Are we trying to reach the university students, politicians, or grassroots activists? Are we trying to [encourage] a policy decision, are we trying to mobilize around an event and raise awareness about an issue? And because we hold this mobilization strategy, we also [oversee] the digital experience of the project.

An XR specialist for the non-profit Games for Change, Ternasky-Holland was on-hand at this years NewImages Festival to preview a white paper outlining her organizations campaign for the immersive doc On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World).

Engaging thoughtfully with our the ever-present nuclear threat, the VR title played both the A-list festival circuit while following a more uncommon, simultaneous circuit at the Nobel Peace Center, the United Nations in New York and Vienna, and a number of universities and think-tanks.

In order to make the project accessible across any number of venues, Ternasky-Holland wanted to keep the project as scalable, flexible and transportable as possible, putting together travel kits that included four VR headsets and the necessary extensions that could fit inside small Pelican cases. On site, the team conducted pre- and post-experience surveys to gauge audience reaction and investment.

Weve had over 4,500 people take this survey from the beginning of our campaign, says Ternasky-Holland. And weve found that more than 40% of participants were willing to give their phone numbers to learn more. Thats a huge metric. [The participants werent just] learning a really great topic; they were actually using the medium of VR as a way to engage.

Set to be published later this month, the case study also found that participants reacted more strongly to the 3D immersive version of the film than an otherwise similar 2D animated iteration.

A majority of the participants who went through VR felt more intense emotions and more positive emotions, says Ternasky-Holland. They felt more excited, more intense emotions, more inspired [and] that creates a feeling similar to a memory.

VR is not necessarily an empathy machine, she adds. It just lends an immersion quality that heightens emotional responses. [In both cases] the participants felt connected to the story and connected to the characters, but just on that level of emotional impact we see the difference VR can make.