Not Another Video

“We need a new video for our website. The old one is derivative and too formal and people can’t be bothered watching it.” 

And so began a conversation about producing a new video for this particular community groups. This not for profit catered for aged care clients with a full kitchen team directed by a professional chef operating out of an industrial kitchen. 

A website video might seem obvious. The organisation ion catered to people in aged care. They still get hungry, but they are no longer able to cook for themselves, so a community organisation steps in with culinary niceties matching their clients tastes and and promoting the conviviality enjoyed by the community. But this gave me pause for thought. 

With the media landscape changing we are now in what many people describe as an attention economy. Three or five years ago, adding a video to a website could have just about guaranteed an increase in online viewers. Google privileges video with higher search rankings but there is much more competition for viewers attention than ever before. According to popular culture, viewers decide within about about 7 seconds whether to keep watching or to bounce onto another page. The number of watching an entire video diminishes as the video plays. 

The Importance of Storytelling

That’s why storytelling is important. Simply Put, if a viewer engages with a story they keep watching. Well designed and colourful graphics may help hold interest with a fresh and appealing look, at least temporarily. But design will only take you so far. 

So I asked my friend if they had though of a virtual tour rather than a video. Being in your kitchen would be far more engaging than looking at it. “You have a modern industrial kitchen, a chef and kitchen staff as well as delivery people coming and going, along with deadlines to meet - what if we were to create a virtual tour of the kitchen at work meeting the challenges of getting meals out on time on a typical morning ?” 

Picture this: a virtual tour, a viewer would assume the role of a person who has to deliver the meals to waiting clients on time and in the process engage with everyone from chef and kitchen staff to diners. We could use a simple simulation game in a virtual tour to find out how meals are prepared, who is involved and ho the meals get to the waiting recipients. When viewers come to your website they will see a virtual tour on computer or mobile. They could even see it on a headset presentation. They quickly become immersed navigating through different stations in the kitchen, understanding the tasks that are performed by characters in this scene as the meals are prepared.
The kitchen is working against the clock. Customers have to have their meals within two hours of cooking. The foods safety regulations are demanding and non negotiable. 

Creating a Storyplex

So I began creating a storyplex considering how many panoramas, characters and hotspots might be needed for a virtual tour simulation. I wanted to visualise the concept so that I could test its potential. Our storyplex consists of panoramas at a number of stations in the kitchen, 360º photospheres in which a sequence of events take place, grouped like the scenes of a three act play, preparation, delivery, eating. A viewer has the point of view from the centre of the scene, interacting with the scene around them. We want to strip the conversations to bare bones and still experience a typical day. It will begin as always with a greeting and inviting the viewer into the space, a kitchen in this case. 

Learning from Experience

I remember what it was like to work front of house in restaurants; what’s on today’s menu? What is of interest in its preparation? What is the story behind your menu, chef? After collecting the food we move to the delivery vehicle, and then to the destinations in a customers home. Then, at the end of the virtual tour we have a splash page for viewers to contact the organisation and sign up for the service.

Developing a Brief

This has been a quick ‘back of an envelope’ sketch of a possible tour for a catering company. The real story would be informed by the actual kitchen and what happens in it. When to consider a virtual tour to a video Virtual tours are good for telling stories in situ, when a process that is better understood or appreciated for seeing it. They are interactive where videos are passive. It is much easier for viewers to suspend disbelief and become more invested in the story. They will have an experience of doing something rather than simple seeing.

Contact us to find out more about interactive virtual tours for your organisation or business.