Theater in the bedroom. Prague, together with the startup, is launching a virtual stage
Ten Prague theaters and ten of their productions for those interested anywhere in the city, even during a pandemic, and at least for the holidays. Advance ticket sales start on Thursday with two games so far. But twice a month another comes.
The new Czech start-up Brejlando promises theater down to the living room, thanks to virtual reality technology and 360-degree cameras. The so-called The headset suitable and comfortable for owners of prescription glasses will be delivered by a partner taxi service Liftago. The price of tickets ranges from 599 to 1399 crowns depending on the selected variants and the number of ordered pieces. Those interested can expect one-hour dramas in the highest abbreviated resolution of 8K for each eye, with an ambisonic, ie spatially distributed sound, and moreover from a very unconventional angle.
“Here you are the only spectator on stage where the actors play and speak. Of course, everyone perceives it differently, everyone brings a different experience. Someone already wore virtual glasses, so he is interested in the very narrative of the game, the recomposition, but for some the experience is completely new, completely unique. I myself say that this is something between theater, film and dream, “explains Štěpán Kleník, co-founder of the parent startup Brainz Studios, to Seznam Zprávy.
“All the productions that the productions find on the platform are completely re-arranged for virtual reality and staged so that it is a truly unique experience,” adds the second co-founder, Robin Pulter.
Record fast start. The municipality is excited
Brejlando starts in a relatively record time. The City of Prague (MHMP) nodded to the parent company Brainz Studios at the end of January. He is now completely financing the production of virtual theater performances, and in half a year it will be seen whether the start-up will be able to earn a living. However, the Councilor for Culture is still satisfied, as are the first users.
“What we’ve done in a short search so far, it seems that no one thought to try a theatrical performance shot for this platform. We were excited about it, because from our point of view it is a new way of conveying theater or a theatrical experience to the audience. I think that this is a gap in the market, “adds Hana Třeštíková, Councilor for Culture of the City of Prague, for Seznam Zprávy.
In the evening the theater arrives, in the morning it leaves
Brejlando will offer virtual dramas in the reservation system on its website from Monday to Saturday. He has fifty headsets or virtual glasses every day, they are delivered in the evening, they are picked up in the morning, disinfected and returned to circulation.
“You have a completely different view than in the theater. The actors look directly at you, giving you a completely different experience. In the theater, you are directly from the play Mostly Department, here you are a part of it. On the one hand, you may not have a complete view of the complete stage, but up to twenty-six wins the fact that you can watch what you want right on stage, look around and see the performance in a completely different way, of course from a much closer distance, “describes Tereza, who had possibility to try a headset.
Theatergoers appreciate the work. The pandemic crushed them
The project comes at a time when theaters and its employees will also appreciate it. “Everyone is completely arid, for them this theatrical work is pleasing, I think it is a completely new work with theater,” adds Třeštíková.
In Prague alone, theaters lost up to 210 million crowns last year, a drop of 68 percent. The capital city compensated these losses of organizations in 2020 by an increase in the non-investment contribution of 90.7 million crowns. The city’s contributory theaters did not receive any compensation from the state in 2020; these rules were excluded by the rules of both the Covid-culture program and the compensation intended for non-profit organizations. Currently, the capital is negotiating with the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic about the possibility of compensating the municipal theater on a one-off basis.
It is said that the theater workers have mostly managed to prepare for this year, so no stage is over. In addition to last year, to increase the current expenditures of contributory organizations, Prague increased grants to those projects that are drawn for year-round operation, in the amount of 20 originally allocated amounts, for a total of 40 million crowns. Other individual earmarked subsidies, intended to help the cultural sector, amounted to 7.5 million crowns.
The entire cultural and creative sector in the capital employs around 46,000 people and, according to Třeštíková, lost about 15,000 people in the covid year 2020.
Break after 20 minutes. Simple control
The parent company Brainz Studios offered the Brejlando project to the Prague City Hall in the spring. At that time, however, the situation was different – theaters, but also logistics companies and other key companies and people were overwhelmed by unexpected worries and complications associated with the onset of coronavirus, and then also did not believe that the pandemic lasts so long. At the beginning of this year, however, Prague joined forces with the startup and agreed.
The offer of virtual productions starts with a recording of the Hamlets of the Na Zábradlí Theater and the Gingerbread Cottage of the Minor Theater. In contrast to the classic longer format of dramas, they are also untraditional due to the viewer’s own active form (for viewing in bed, due to the mobility of the scene the startup recommends, for example, a swivel chair) shortened to an hour with an optional break of 20 minutes.
Drábek’s and King’s Elephanties of the Prague City Theaters are also being prepared, the play Let the Don graduate! directed by Tomáš Dianiška from the repertoire of the Pod Palmovkou Theater or a theatrical adaptation of the famous film The Ear of Jan Procházka, presented by the Theater in Vinohrady directed by Šimon Dominik.
A number of other Prague scenes have already expressed interest in participating in the project. The service thus becomes a full-fledged distribution platform open not only to Prague’s city theaters.
Brejlando is said to have chosen ergonomics and the most comfortable glasses for the user, which should fit on the head of almost every user. It was also key to make them easier to use. In addition to the button to turn on the glasses and volume control on the bottom of the glasses, there is only a small button on the side to stabilize the image, return to the menu and a large button to confirm the menu. The headphone connection has a standard 3.5 mm jack.
The Czech Republic is famous with the CoR
The group Brainz Studios, whose studio last year exceeded 50 million crowns, originally worked according to Klík and still works on a similar platform capturing live concerts for bands. In this case, the audience with VRmi and a 360-degree view is part of a band that also interacts with them in some way. The Brejlando project also works directly on this know-how.
The parent company’s portfolio also includes cooperation in the field of virtual reality with multinational companies such as IKEA, MSD, L’Oreál or Audi, as well as the domestic carmaker Škoda Auto, for which VR has previously prepared a racing game.
As such, the Czech Republic is known in the world in the field of virtual reality thanks to the billion-dollar game title Beat Saber, which was recently bought by Facebook.