I watched a dead composer perform at a mixed reality concert

• I attended a mixed reality concert featuring the ghostly performance of the late Ryuichi Sakamoto.
• It has some technical issues that ruin the total immersion.
• But it shows the huge opportunity Apple has in AR.

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a pioneer of Japanese composers. He died in March at the age of 71.

Three months later, I saw him give a 50-minute piano concert at The Shed Arts Center in New York.Or at least, I saw Sakamoto’s digital avatar performing in a dark room magic jump 2 Headphones clipped to my face.

The show is called KAGAMI, produced by a production studio called Tin Drum, and titled “mixed reality“Concert. You can call it Augmented Realityalso.

Some technical issues aside, this experience showed me AR’s potential to transform the entertainment industry.it reveals why Apple and Meta invest so much maintain their position in the space. Microsoft and Google This technology seems to have been abandoned recently, but they probably won’t.

Before the show, we sat in a circular auditorium. An announcement mildly warns people that recording anything with a phone through the lens of the headset won’t work: “We won’t panic if you try, but it probably won’t be worth it.”

Since I wear glasses, I was given a headset with prescription lenses. I wear it on my face with the computing unit that comes with it like a necklace.

As the lights dimmed, the audience turned into ghostly silhouettes, with Sakamoto’s head looming center stage. he plays”Soon afterAt first, people watched demurely from surrounding seats, but by the second song some people started walking around Sakamoto, encouraging the rest of us to follow.

At one point, when Sakamoto was playing one of his pieces, digital snowflakes drifted in through the high windows. In another song, a fake tree grows beneath the piano and shoots out its branches. Later, a galaxy swirls beneath our feet. I am teleported.

Then, unfortunately, a fan Magic Leap computer A voice on my neck suddenly interrupted my reverie of the digital world. Other distractions followed. The silhouette of a spectator pops inches away, a reminder that the physical world exists and please don’t bump into anyone.

AR effects are low-res grainy and limited to small squares directly in my line of sight. I can’t see anything around me unless I turn my head and look straight. On closer inspection, Sakamoto’s head slid into the “uncanny valley’, when space robots and digital avatars aren’t realistic enough to pass off as humans, there’s an unsettling space.

KAGAMI still shows a lot of promise for the future of AR entertainment. With headphones, participants are not hindered by the usual barriers to full immersion. For example, in 2022, Elton John Brings the AR element Say goodbye to the Yellow Brick Road tour, but viewers will have to hold up their phones to watch the concert via an app.

If Apple’s Vision Pro succeeds, experiences that can be teleported directly into someone’s living room, can be downloaded through apps like Elton John Activation, but offer a fuller sense of immersion like KAGAMI does. If that happens, it could change the entertainment industry.

as Disney CEO Bob Iger saidthe promise of AR devices like the Vision Pro is that you’ll feel like you’re watching a sports game from the sidelines, rather than back in the stands that traditional TV often lets you see.

That could open up new pricing structures, as fans pay premium prices to get on stage to see pop stars perform. Artists might sell tickets to a show that happened long ago, or license their likeness for a new show, without lifting a finger. Scripted entertainment can have new interactive elements that combine video games and movies even more than they do now.

Tech companies that build the best AR hardware and software have the opportunity to control the next generation of entertainment. All the current tech giants know this because their existing digital platforms and operating systems dominate the online content business. Apple got the new race off the ground in June. I can’t wait to see who wins.