Disney’s AR Short Film Creates Immersive Home Theatre
Published 04 October 2022
Disney has released a new short film that uses augmented reality (AR) technology to help the story leap off the screen, and into the audience’s living room.
Launched on its streaming platform Disney+, Remembering stars and is produced by American actress Brie Larson. The movie first prompts viewers to scan a QR code on their TV screen with their Apple iOS devices to launch a companion app, which is designed to be left open on this second screen throughout the film’s eight-minute duration. It uses Apple’s ShazamKit technology to track audio cues and sync mobile AR content to the events on the big screen.
At a pivotal moment of the narrative (which explores a young girl’s imagination), viewers are alerted that they can hold their iOS devices up to their TV to witness digital waterfalls and jungle foliage cascade out of the screen to cover their homes. Image recognition tech lets water pool on the floor, and vines cling to the corners of TV shelves.
In addition to being a savvy way of occupying second screens and commanding full viewer attention, this early test points to a deeply immersive interactive future for at-home entertainment, with an AR layer where the physical world and digital content meet. Imagine, for instance, having to help a character find a lost item (or hiding friend) in your own home to advance the story.
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