Interactive Vision Zhang Hailang: The biggest competitor of VR content production companies is professional film and television companies

Faced with the influx of more and more VR content companies, competitive pressure has suddenly increased. However, in Zhang Haibo's view, the influx of these companies that have transformed from hardware and software is actually not terrible. What is terrible is that some professional companies have been engaged in traditional film and television production for many years have begun to lay out the VR field.

Original title: Interactive Vision CEO Zhang Haibo: Panorama video is not a VR video revenue model.

VR technology is changing the entire video industry. New video forms such as panoramic video and VR video are beginning to enter users 'vision. The Chinese version of the Goldman Sachs VR report shows that the market size will be US$750 million in 2020 and will reach US$3.2 billion in 2025.

Faced with such broad prospects, many domestic companies have turned to VR video camp. Many video websites have also gradually launched VR video channels. The interactive vision, which was established in 2005, has also begun to shift its focus to the production and operation of VR content.

Interactive Vision's works include Xizang's first VR documentary film "Blind World" released at the Beijing Film Festival, China's first hip-hop VR-MV Longjing rap "Sun Da Sheng", the VR live broadcast of the 9.3 military parade, the VR shooting of "The Voice of China" at the peak of the Bird's Nest, the VR promotional video of "Wilderness Hunter", etc. The reporter interviewed Interactive Vision CEO Zhang Haibo to interpret Interactive Vision's layout on VR content and Zhang Haibo's views on the industry.

Panoramic video improves the user experience but is not VR video

Panoramic video uses multiple lenses to simultaneously capture 360-degree surround shots and supports multi-angle playback. Users can scroll up and down to watch, or rotate left and right. When watching panoramic videos, users are no longer in a passive viewing mode, but become participants who can actively explore what they are watching.

In Zhang Haibo's view, panoramic video is a new way of narrative. Different from traditional video, viewers can independently control panoramic video and watch it from different angles.

However, with the popularity of VR technology, many panoramic video companies have labeled VR videos, and Zhang Haibo does not agree with this.

Zhang Hailang believes that panoramic videos emphasize more 360-degree all-round directions, while VR videos bring more immersion with depth of field. Users must have an immersive feeling. More importantly, VR videos must also have interactive attributes to stimulate users to explore and discover. Therefore, panoramic video is not completely equivalent to VR video.

In the Internet age, Dan Rayburn, who was engaged in the development of 360-degree panoramic video, also held similar views in an interview with foreign media: "For people who study VR, they may be a little annoyed with panoramic video because They will clearly define the above two technologies. Many people who have experienced 360-degree panoramic video see it as virtual reality technology, but in fact it is not."

Many industry insiders regard 360-degree panoramic video as a useful stepping stone, playing an important role in the still-infant virtual reality industry's rise to glory. Alban Denoyel, co-founder and CEO of 3D imaging startup Sketchfab, said,"I think 360-degree panoramic video can fill the gap in virtual reality content. But in essence, 360-degree panoramic video is just an extension of today's flat video, and the purpose is to pave the way for the future development of virtual reality."

The business model of VR currently relies on the B-end, but will move towards the C-end in the future

. The difference between VR video and traditional video is that VR video can be viewed from any angle, and is an active exploration behavior that is viewed at the user's own will. For merchants, this is a comprehensive tool to display products. Whether it is VR exhibitions, VR house viewing, or VR sports or VR news event live broadcasts, it will provide users with a new interactive experience.

According to Zhang Hailang, Interactive Vision's current main source of revenue is to provide VR one-stop, high-end scene-based marketing services for B-end companies such as real estate, entertainment, tourism, and automobiles, accounting for about 70% of the revenue source. Since the beginning of 2016, the company has improved its current business model."By the end of 2016, we will achieve 50% of B-end (merchant side) revenue and 50% of C-end (user side) revenue. In 2018, B-end revenue will be further reduced to 30%."

How to use VR content to create revenue on the C-side? Zhang Hailang said that Interactive Vision will actually follow a B2B2C path. Through the technology and experience accumulated in recent years, it is not only limited to customizing VR content for enterprises, but also the development and operation of exclusive VR content IP., such as VR movies and documentaries, Interactive Vision invites domestic high-level screenwriters and directors, and cooperates with the full-process VR film and television execution team. After VR content is produced, it will sell the premiere rights and playback rights to VR platforms or other demanders. model, Interactive Vision receives a corresponding authorization fee. Although Interactive Vision still deals with the enterprise side, the revenue ultimately earned is generated by the user side.

The biggest competitor of VR content production companies is professional film and television companies

. In 2014, Facebook invested heavily in the acquisition of VR headset manufacturer Oculus, which attracted the attention of the industry. In addition, giant companies such as Microsoft, Google, Samsung, and HTC have successively made arrangements, triggering a domestic wave of VR entrepreneurship.

However, some industry insiders said that in the past year, 70% of VR hardware startups have closed down. In 2014, there were more than 200 companies making VR helmets in China. In 2015, there were only more than 60 left. Many hardware companies have begun to turn to VR content.

Faced with the influx of more and more VR content companies, competitive pressure has suddenly increased. However, in Zhang Haibo's view, the influx of these companies that have transformed from hardware and software is actually not terrible. What is terrible is that some professional companies have been engaged in traditional film and television production for many years have begun to lay out the VR field. "They have years of accumulation in the video field, including artists, IP, screenwriters, and directors. For many VR content production companies, this is not a good signal."

What are the advantages of interactive vision compared to these large companies? Zhang Hailang said that Interactive Vision has been established for more than 10 years. Compared with startups, Interactive Vision has good revenue and cash flow at the current stage of VR development. Especially this year, it has also received investment from Aofei Entertainment and New Culture. There are not many concerns at the financial level, and financing can be used to create and try more homemade content.

In addition, after a long period of exploration in the field of VR, Interactive Vision has improved the industrial chain of VR content production and operation, including the incubation, creation, production, operation, and commercial realization of VR content IP. Although many companies have entered the VR field at present, the content is mixed, and many themes are not suitable for making VR content. In the future, the Interactive Vision will focus on three-dimensional immersive and interactively exploitable content. VR's exclusive IP+ is the most innovative. Sexual interaction method + film-level full-process control model + continuous and mature commercial monetization model may become the most significant core competitiveness of the Interactive Vision in the VR video field.

Editor: yvette