Dreaming Movies and Theater into the Metaverse

My background is in film, as a producer and former festival director, but I created my first web site in 1997. After that I created an online community with 5000 users in 2000, while young Zuckerberg was still in high school, before anyone knew Tom of MySpace from Tom Hanks talking to a volleyball. My boyfriend at the time was annoyed that I spent so much time life-blogging on LiveJournal, and my grad advisor asked me “what’s the point?” when I excitedly showed him my bulletin boards full of people from around the world. I was told that my full merit scholarship to the prestigious art school had gone to waste and that I should focus solely on making films. And he wasn’t too keen on the fact that students like me were using DV instead of film to make movies, either.

Fast forward to Web3. While educating myself on NFTs and finding a new community of enthusiastic artists and early adopters, I found Nico Fara’s project. I knew I’d found a place I’d like to call my new online home. It was not your typical tech bro wet dream, nor my kid’s favorite pastime of building with blocks and killing Zombies, but a world where women can take the lead in the design and function of a whole new alternate universe. I knew that was bound to be different from any game or online environment I’d experienced. And it’s ideal for someone like me who is all about fighting for women to have a strong voice and leadership roles in all parts of life.

I knew immediately, if I could move in and build anything for a community like this, it would be a movie theater. I could once again combine my passions.

In the past, walking into a movie theater was like walking into a cathedral, or a grand opera house with opulent architecture. It was an event, often accompanied by live music. The lobby was filled with art and handmade posters of what was to come.

Imagine a more contemporary space like this but with interactive NFT movie posters, each a little different from the next, which, when dropped into your blockchain wallet, could act as a your movie ticket, and could give you information on the cast and crew and stories about production.

Movies in the Queendom’s theater could be streamed on two main screens multiple times per day and night for audiences across the planet. One would be a standard rectangular screen for more classically shot films, and the other a wrap around screen. Filmmakers could make content just for a 180 or 360 degree experience, and depending on where you look, you see different parts of the full image — the editing software for this already exists in live theatrical productions, and I know someone who works on spherical film projects, intended to be watched laying back in the large dome theaters common in observatories. And not every movie would need to be a feature. My theater could be a place to watch all the best short films too!

In my movie theater there would be incredible surround sound, and you could comment via text to your friends. You could have in-depth discussions without interrupting the moviegoing experience for others around you! You could also switch to full screen mode if you want to concentrate on the movie without distractions.

What if there was live music before the movie premiere or even music composed for the movie and played live like in the olden days?

How about red carpet events where people dress their avatars in their most impressive fashions, and the filmmakers and cast can do Q&As?

What if characters in a movie could interact with the audience and ask them to vote in choose-your-adventure style stories which move the movie’s plot in new directions each time you watch the movie with a different group of people? You would want to see the movie several times to experience all the possible outcomes.

And what if the space could accommodate live performances and lectures? Imagine actors voicing avatars in elaborate costumes, in plays written just for this kind of theater, that could have sets and backdrops appear on stage easily and seamlessly.

Whole new schools of acting and performance could evolve. Actors studios could be held where instructors lead classes teaching how to act effectively via an avatar. Actors learn to convey emotion through voice and movement like puppetry.

New dance styles might even be invented and avatar-specific choreography. And in this theater, those who have physical disabilities could become the best dancers on the stage, while still sitting in their chairs.

Imagine also, if users could seamlessly slip into the POV of a live character on stage without changing the characters’ actions. They could slide inside the character’s head and see what they see. Maybe even read the subtext of their thoughts. How could that change how we write and perform stories? I can imagine a whole new metaverse-specific style of theater here!

And what if the live theater element could spontaneously pull audience members in as new characters in the story like interactive improvised theater does now? What if a story could even carry on outside the theater. A mystery to be solved with clues located all over the Queendom metaverse platform, like in alternate reality games (ARGs)?

The theater space could also act as a community hub, with town hall meetings held there. It would be a meaningful part of the Queendom — a place to gather.

Film festivals could be curated here and industry professionals could attend. Collectible catalogs with great art work, video and audio clips could be airdropped to festival goers’ wallets. Other Queendom merchants could add to a goodie bag for attendees with free items to draw people to their business. These too could be airdropped with your event ticket.

A schedule of live panel discussions on film and metaverse related topics could be available to festival goers. Folks from everywhere in the world could attend.

All of this would happen within this gorgeous, smoothly functioning multi-media space, with HD video (and surround sound which changes depending on where you are in the space).

And accessibility would be a dream come true for many. There could be easily accessible options for people with sensory sensitivities who need a much quieter experience, or a louder experience for the hard of hearing, along with subtitles on everything.

A metaverse movie theater could be the best of the history of movie-going and the future.

The discussion is already happening:

These are all just ideas and plans that need engineers like Nico to make happen, and filmmakers and curators like me willing to experiment. But I’m determined to make at least some of these ideas real…meta-real. I think we are at a crucial intersection of innovation and imagination and I, for one, am looking forward to meeting you there!

Related posts:

Remember Justice Sacco? She’s ancient history, internet-wise. Way back in 2013, the PR executive Tweeted “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get Aids. Just kidding. I’m white!” Clearly sarcastic, Sacco…

Why do friendships from childhood / middle school / high school usually last longer and deeper?. “Friendship” is published by Ozzyborn.

We have been so quiet about our problems that sometimes we tend to forget that we are hurting and when everything starts creeping back, we can’t do a thing about it. They eat us alive. Sometimes, we…