What is immersive storytelling?

Storytelling has always been important. We all know how a fascinating story can keep us hooked. Regular storytelling as we’ve experienced so far is mainly watching movies and read stories as a bystander. Imagine being fully in the story, experiencing it as it develops instead of just watching it. That is what immersive storytelling is all about.

Great storytelling is something we pride ourselves on. For us, it’s important to realize the origins of storytelling and how new generations adopt new ways of telling stories. No matter what format it is, we create engaging narratives and stories that pulls audiences into the story to get immersed.

Since the dawn of time, people have told stories. They gathered around the fireplace, gossiped, and told stories. These stories then grew into myths, legends, and within time into books. The next step was visual storytelling with photographs. Later these photographs were made into moving pictures – the cinema was born.

With immersive storytelling, we do not want to limit ourselves to the newest technologies. We craft stories best adapted to the story itself. By adding layers of interactivity we can create immersion unlike what is possible in other media formats.

An example of this is newer forms of video games where players are completely immersed in a completely different reality interacting and changing the storyline as it develops. The gaming industry has basically exploded and while not all are interested in video games, the use of immersive and interactive storytelling in other areas is growing rapidly.

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Techniques being used

Virtual reality

Virtual reality or simply VR is a simulated environment created by technology. The environment can be a completely made-up, but it can also be a real location captured beforehand. We then enter that reality through a head-mounted display (HMD), smartphone, tablet, or computer. We can then interact and navigate the surroundings in the new environment.

Virtual reality aims to use as many of our senses as possible. Vision, touch, hearing, and sometimes even our smell is used to create a fully immersive experience of being somewhere else.

Augmented reality

Augmented reality or AR is reality as we see it but intertwined with 3D graphics and animated elements. In other words, we can take a stroll in the park and see an animated elephant running past us or an alien aircraft landing beside us. The most famously and widely used AR concept is the Pokemon Go application, where reality is mixed with animated pokemon to collect.
Augmented reality can be used with AR goggles, tablets or smartphones.
So, where VR creates a completely new environment, AR uses the reality we’re in while adding animated layers to create an enhanced version of our world.

360 video

A 360 video or 360-degree video is a video where you can interact with and view the same video from every angle. Imagine watching a video of a cliff, you’ll see what the cameraman is filming but the rest is a blind spot. Now compare it with a 360 video with the person standing at the same cliff, you can actually choose how to experience the same video and scenario by choosing which angle to view it from. This makes it more intractable and interesting and creates a much more vivid experience than a regular video.

360 videos can be watched as it is on the computer or phone. When used with goggles it crosses the line into virtual reality which shows how interlinked all these concepts and areas are.

Who uses immersive storytelling and why?

Marketers

This perhaps is one of the biggest markets for immersive storytelling where it can be used to entertain, educate or build brand awareness. Where marketers goal is for the message to stick, immersive storytelling with a great story keeping the audience hooked while engaging all senses and enhances engagement, tick all the boxes of making it memorable and in the end, having a greater chance of being the brand that is remembered and chosen before all competitors.

Marketing has always been about experiences, with the technology of immersive storytelling, the possibilities are endless with your imagination and creativity as the only limitations.

Industries

While industries might be hard to imagine being in the front line of immersive storytelling, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Industries are using virtual tours for visitors and clients to view their production chain, facilities and to educate future workers. It opens up possibilities to view places – inaccessible to the public, while lowering the cost and boosting effectiveness in an array of ways, all while meeting the same goals as before. Industries that have made this transition won’t go back.

Educators

Education is another great area where immersive storytelling can be widely used. Though we’ve learned that people learn in different ways and are very diverse in motivation, education hasn’t changed much since the schooling system begun in ancient times of Greece as we know it. Immersive storytelling allows students to learn on their terms, which heightens motivation and memory recall since it’s more enjoyable and memorable.

Museums and tour operators

Haven’t we all wanted to go somewhere we couldn’t due to a shortage of money or time? Imagine being immersed in a new culture we knew nothing about, inside a tomb from the middle ages learning all about our ancestors’ lives and behavior, or surrounded by interesting artifacts from a museum on the other side of the world otherwise unreachable for us. Not only does immersive storytelling open up opportunities to visit but to learn and tell stories about history and cultures not before possible.

Real estate agents and property owners

Everyone needs somewhere to live and everyone who has been on a property hunt knows it’s both time-consuming and at times hard to be able to make it to all the house tours. Imagine having the possibility to go on a digital house tour whenever it fits you, and from there only pick those relevant to you and save heaps of time and energy. Or why not create a house tour of your restaurant, mall, or entertainment facilities to show customers why they should be there.

Immersive storytelling in the future

Maya Angelou famously put it

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

In a rapidly ever-changing world with so many surrounding stimuli that draw our attention, immersive isn’t words and actions – but emotions. Compared to the majority of media today, immersive storytelling gives us a more vivid view, a better understanding, and a more inclusive involvement. Simply put, a richer experience. These kinds of experiences are what both consumers and businesses, educators, museums, and others are looking for.

That’s why it’s safe to say that immersive storytelling is here to stay.

How to include immersive storytelling in your business

We specialize in immersive storytelling, creating unique and unforgettable experiences.
If that’s what you need, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. E-mail us down below and we’ll get back to you shortly!

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