New technologies and new atmosphere--a new model of variety shows brought by cross-screen interaction

Users frequently switch between screens, and the parallel phenomenon of "multitasking" is common, which means that users 'attention is lower. How to use multiple screens to increase users' stickiness and improve their sense of participation has become a new challenge for TV programs., cross-screen interactive technology came into being.

With the development of mobile Internet technology, smartphones, tablets and other terminals have become popular among young people. The cross-screen interactive variety model that enhances user participation and video viewing experience has rapidly emerged and has become a new trend in the model world. After different types of variety shows incorporate cross-screen interaction elements, what new changes have been made in the gameplay? Today, let's take a look at what types of cross-screen interactive programs are currently popular in the international market.

With the development and popularization of smart terminal equipment, users 'habit of watching videos has shifted from watching programs on a single screen to parallel on multiple screens, and "large-screen viewing + small-screen interaction" has become a new trend. According to iResearch's 2016 "China Online New Media Users Research Report", 68.5% of new media users "play with mobile phones" while watching videos, and 38.5% of new media users choose to use laptops or desktop computers at the same time. While watching videos, Internet users use other devices to communicate on Social networks and other behaviors. Users frequently switch between screens, and the parallel phenomenon of "multitasking" is common, which means that users 'attention is lower. How to use multiple screens to increase users' stickiness and improve their sense of participation has become a new challenge for TV programs., cross-screen interactive technology came into being. There are many types of programs that use cross-screen interactive technology, among which there are three more successful mainstream types: answer, game and music. Let's take a look at how these three types of programs are integrated with cross-screen interactive technology.

Answer programs are the main force of cross-screen interactive programs with high enthusiasm for mainstream audience interaction. Answer

programs are the main force of cross-screen interactive programs at present. They use real-time interactive methods to attract viewers to actively participate. The content and competition format of this kind of answering program are different, but the cross-screen gameplay is similar: viewers interact through the APP supporting the program, answer questions simultaneously with the contestants in the program, and compete with on-site contestants or other viewers using the APP. Win rewards. The reason why answer programs can become the preferred theme for cross-screen interactive variety shows is that, first, the rules of the game are relatively simple, and you can only answer the correct answer. Secondly, it is technically easier to achieve multi-screen synchronization, allowing more people to participate in the interaction at the same time. In addition, there is also the encouragement of high bonuses, so audiences in answer programs abroad are more motivated to participate.

There are many wonderful experiments in each episode: What is the speed at which a truck lands? How many children does it take to pull a big truck? How many hydrogen balloons does it take to get a person off the ground? The contestants on the program must compete with the national audience and give what they think is the correct experimental answers. Compared with the average number of answers given by the contestants and the average number of answers given by the national audience participating in the quiz through the supporting APP, whose answer is closer to the correct experimental results, you can get a bonus for this question. There are 7 questions in each program. The one who answers the last question correctly will receive the accumulated bonus. If the national audience wins, one lucky audience will be selected to pay the bonus.

The highlight of the program is that the answers given by viewers participating in cross-screen interactions in real time are introduced into the program as a whole. Each viewer's answers can determine the result of this round of competition and will ultimately determine the outcome of the entire game. This gives the interactive audience a "1v1" sense of presence. First watch the TV program to get questions, then give answers through the mobile terminal, and then learn the result of the game through the TV. The audience fully participated in the entire program as a player during the cross-screen process, which is compared with traditional cross-screen interaction. Compared with, the sense of participation has made a qualitative leap.

Compared with the prosperity of answering programs abroad, answering programs in my country have not become a popular type of variety shows due to the bonus restriction policy. As another way to arouse the audience's sense of participation, I wonder if the addition of cross-screen interactive elements will bring new vitality to my country's answer programs?

The visual effect of game programs becoming a rookie is even more shocking

. Game programs have a faster pace and a tense and exciting process. With the development of technology, virtual reality technology has gradually been applied to TV programs, bringing new opportunities for cross-screen interaction in game programs. Dug James, senior vice president of product development at Fremantle Media, has said: The company is looking for a technological change that can help variety plots develop without overtaking the lead, and makes the show more exciting. The gradual maturity of virtual reality (VR) and related technologies has provided technical support for change. By simulating complex environments and gorgeous scenes in games, the audio and video effects of programs can be made more exciting. Viewers simultaneously engage in virtual reality games through mobile phones or tablets., can also enhance the interactive experience of cross-screen users.

The Norway program "Lost in Time and Space" produced by Freeman Media is such a cross-screen interactive game show using Interactive Mixed Reality. The program uses IMR technology to generate a simulated environment based on the real world through computers. Compared with VR technology, IMR gets rid of the limitations of helmet equipment on players and better reflects the contestants 'expressions and movements in the program screen. At the same time, real-life actions will directly act on the virtual world, allowing a series of large-scale action games to be completed. In order to allow viewers to have a more realistic viewing experience, the program invested as much as US$42 million to establish a special technology platform, and through this platform, the green screen in the studio is transformed into virtual pictures in the program in real time, allowing viewers watching at home. You can also experience the tension and excitement of live players.

There are three contestants in each program. They will enter different time and space through IMR equipment, including the Ice Age, the Middle Ages and the Jurassic Period. They need to complete a series of challenges in a limited time, such as shooting, racing, and transporting. etc., the winner will receive a generous bonus. Viewers can also play games on mobile phones or tablets and simultaneously experience the shocking pictures generated by IMR technology. Each program divides users on the APP side into two teams to compete in the same game as the contestants. The winning team in each round of competition will have One person will receive a prize. At the end of each program, the winning user on the APP side will receive the same amount of cash prize as the winning player on the spot.

In terms of cross-screen interaction,"Lost Time and Space" has completed multi-screen synchronization of game screens through technological innovation, making the games that mobile phone users can participate in more abundant and get a more realistic program participation experience; at the same time, the mobile phone divides users into two teams. Teams compete, and the form of confrontation can more enhance user enthusiasm. Overall,"Lost Time and Space" is an ambitious work of integrating cross-screen interaction into game variety shows.

It is worth noting that the application of new technologies is not yet very mature. The show "Lost in Time and Space" was temporarily suspended in April due to a server-related failure and was only re-launched in May. But Eivind Landsverk, programming director at TVNorge and Discovery Networks, said he still has great confidence in such programming models that use groundbreaking technology, and Peter Testmann-Koch, marketing director at Fremantle Media Norway, also said that such large-scale technological innovations will definitely have some run-in problems when they are first implemented, but this model is still interesting.

Music programs are beginning to emerge. Industrial intersection is the future direction.

Cross-screen interaction brings the possibility of collaboration with other digital industries to the TV industry. Music programs are the first to test the waters and become a major type of cross-screen interactive variety shows. Calle Jansson, vice president of content and programming at Discovery Networks Sweden, believes that the next flashpoint in the variety model market will come from cooperation with industries such as music and games that are already very digital and have fewer technical barriers. The latest collaboration between TV programs and music apps is "Defeat Shazan". In this variety show broadcast on mainstream American TV networks, contestants compete with music software "Shazan" to compete with who can listen to music faster and recognize music. It is not technically difficult to further realize cross-screen interaction on this basis. From the selection of players to the setting of competition systems, other terminals can be introduced.

Norway's music talent show "Traffic" is such a cross-screen interactive program based on the music industry. The program focuses on the reality that many contemporary world-renowned singers have made their fortune on the Internet, and is committed to combining the selection of musicians with the Internet. Musicians who want to participate in the "Traffic" program need to upload their singing videos to the program's designated website for viewing and playing by audiences around the world within a certain period of time. The top 100 players with views were invited to the show to be interviewed by judges set by the world's three largest record companies-Universal, Sony, and Warner. After nearly a week of rigorous selection, some musicians can sign up with one of the three companies and perform live on the stage of "Flow". After each week's performance, the songs sung by the musicians are released on Spotify and pushed to fans around the world.

"Traffic" achieves the complete and organic combination of TV programs and Internet platform operations through cross-screen interaction. The method for contestants to register is to upload videos to the web page. The audition is determined by the number of clicks on the Internet by netizens, and the program results are also promoted on the Internet platform. "Traffic" uses the Internet platform to expand its program content and platform, and has greatly increased audience participation and enthusiasm. At the same time, cooperation with the three major music companies has made program operation, star cultivation, promotion and promotion professional, ensuring the development prospects of musicians born in the Internet in reality.

The "Traffic" program can be seen as an extension of the music industry's own industrial space in the cross-screen era. Traditional record companies have gradually shrunk in the music industry. The rise of online digital music has brought new industrial logic. As the name of the program says, traffic is the core of today's music industry. The music industry is gradually developing from TV to the Internet. Attempts to cross-screen interaction demonstrate the ambition of these digital industries to expand their own industrial space.

In this era of fragmented information and time, cross-screen interactive variety shows satisfy young people's desire to participate in interactive video viewing habits. Relying on ever-changing technology, answer topics, games and music topics have taken the lead in entering the ranks of cross-screen interactive TV programs. In the future, the application of cross-screen interactive technology will become more and more extensive, and the form and content of audience participation in programs will also continue to expand. Cross-screen interaction will bring an industrial revolution to TV variety shows.

Editor: jessica