流媒体网站对互动视频的数据进行了分析

It seems obvious: A production that needs more footage is going to be more expensive. Interactive shows—those choose-your-own-adventure style features—require a lot more footage. 创造互动内容也具有商业意义?

Netflix原创剧集 黑镜:猛兽, 于2018年12月底交付, 提高了娱乐价值和技术卓越的赌注. This branching narrative let viewers make choices and determine everything from what the main character eats for breakfast to far more psychologically challenging options.

该节目的默认路径可以在90分钟内查看, but there’s a wide variation in how many endings can be seen and even how long it takes to get there. 总之，制作团队拍摄了 150分钟的镜头分为250个片段. 拍摄历时35天, which creator Charlie Brooker says is equivalent to developing four separate episodes.

“It's really interesting when you pull back and you think about the idea of interactive properties and subscription business models,赞恩·维拉, 康卡斯特公司产品互动副总裁, 告诉观众明日秀电视. With this type of content there’s the chance for consumers to watch multiple times and revise how the story’s characters will make moral and ethical choices. As your branching narrative expands out there is exponentially more production that you have to do and that has to be taken into account."

所以这是很昂贵的，但没有制作新节目那么昂贵. It's a lot easier to extend a franchise and shoot parallel paths of three, 比开发全新的项目还要多4到5个分支机构, 维拉拉说. 结果是:创建交互式分支会增加成本, but it's actually more affordable than going out and developing new properties.

编码和路径(不)采取

互动视频是一个新事物, and getting it right required developing new tools and coordinating multiple production teams. 安迪·舒勒, Netflix的视频工程经理, one of his team's key challenges was handling all the potential variations in a cost-effective manner.

Consider the problem of latency: When viewers choose a path that video needs to play seamlessly. 任何延误都会毁了这次体验. 所以哪个选项会被缓存? Netflix说两者都有. “While caching multiple choices does add complexity and some additional cost, 它受到客户机缓冲区容量的限制, 所以成本不随段长增长,舒勒说.

Netflix developed a branching manager tool to handle the complex web of potential story paths. 公司需要为写作提供一个结构猛兽并确保场景之间的平滑过渡.

进行编码, Netflix replaced the chunking approach of using two-second GOPs (groups of pictures) with a newly developed per-scene approach. This allowed for low latency and optimized stitching of ABR (average bitrate) files. “Per-scene encoding optimizations were critical to achieving a seamless experience across multiple platforms,” 舒勒说. “我们的编码阶梯是定制的，以最适合每个内容, 这样我们就可以在几乎任何数据速率下提供最佳质量.”

Netflix现在对其所有内容都采用了同样的方法. "The encoding ladder is informed more by the creative choices of the camera department and editors than whether the content is meant to be viewed linearly or not.舒勒在演讲中详细介绍了互动故事流媒体东2019闭幕致辞.

让我赚大钱

内容如猛兽 can achieve a much higher engagement level because many viewers watch multiple times and experiment with different paths. The content owner is able to capture data about user preferences and use this as a departure point for additional personalization. Interactive storytelling can work on transactional or ad-supported platforms, as well. 最近的一个广告支持的作品是 史诗般的夜晚.

“我们刚刚结束拍摄 史诗般的夜晚, our scripted interactive content branch narrative for the Eko platform,” 的首席执行官Marc Hustvedt说好兄弟娱乐. Eko贸易资助 史诗般的夜晚, acollege-party adventure, and will debut it on the free, ad-supported HelloEko 2019年秋季的流媒体视频平台. 去年，Eko收到了沃尔玛投资2.5亿美元开发互动内容.

“史诗般的夜晚 是否每隔60到90秒呈现一个用户决策点, 通常在两个选项之间, 有3个以上,000种不同的排列,哈斯特维特说. “等待最终批准, there should be about 120 minutes of finished content for a play-thru of about 45 minutes.

“I think on a per-minute basis it doesn't necessarily have to cost more. From the perspective of per-user minutes watched it probably is more expensive. 但就每分钟的投篮次数而言，是可以比较的.”

选择一个成功的格式

Video site Twitch has become an effective branching storytelling platform by using text and other types of interactivity. 制片人正在寻找其他能引起观众共鸣的方法. 杰森·乔治。, Telescope首席执行官, 他说他使用了几种不同的策略, 比如观众投票, 在真人秀中 美国偶像, where live polling allowed viewers across multiple time zones to watch and make their choices at the same moment.

一个正在开发的项目是 预测比赛, a live competition where viewers can win a cash prize by correctly making sports predictions. This new area should bring a number of interesting business and technical challenges to the forefront, but producers need to make sure interactivity is never just a gimmick. “我不这么认为 猛兽的 互动性将适用于任何其他节目. If the interactivy is any less creative than the TV show itself, you failed,” George says.

虽然有些格式只是昙花一现(比如3d), 目前正在开展创建平台的工作, 方法, 以及确保交互式开发蓬勃发展的指导方针. Movielabs develops common technology goals in the entertainment industry for digital distribution. 它的重点之一是创造跨平台的额外的 (CPE) specifications that standardize the process of supplying interactive content—whether that's for a movie or a trivia game.

“工具是一个非常重要的方面，”Vella说. Adding three months of code development for each interactive production wouldn't work. “但如果你(已经)有了工具，你就会让它变得容易.”

猛兽 flung open the door for interactive storytelling, and Netflix has more on its schedule. 平台上线 你对. 野生 4月，并宣布了一项互动计划 坚不可摧的吉米·施密特 特别和一个动画互动系列叫做 战斗猫.

虽然现在评估互动的价值还为时过早, 这种内容范式应该能够在SVOD中找到一个家, TVOD, 以及AVOD的商业模式.不管是什么平台，观众将通过点击来投票, and it will become apparent soon if interactive video has real staying power.