The Mouse House wants to invest in the future of storytelling and it has picked a unique ally to help.
At first glance it might not be perfectly clear why a partnership between a wireless company and a fabled movie studio makes so much sense.
Does 5G or fifth-generation technology for broadband cellular networks, ring any bells? Mobile internet speed is a central advancement of 5G, which is supposed to make smartphone downloads and wireless hot-spot connections even faster.
On paper 5G has the potential to connect everything, although the rollout of 5G services in America has been problematic with some customers receiving significantly slower speeds after the upgrade.
Telecom companies are betting on 5G to keep up with rising demand by customers for streaming videos, mobile games and other data-heavy apps, as well as to develop new revenue streams.
Juxtapose this with creative folks like filmmakers who are thinking about ways where they can let audiences literally step inside the world of their film, not only necessarily by just hearing it and watching it, but also feeling it, being a part of it.
Disney/YouTube Lofi Girl
Radical Changes in Storytelling
Disney (DIS) – Get Walt Disney Company Report expects how it tells stories to radically change. The famed entertainment company believes that new formats will be part of the future of storytelling and one of the many ways the company is hoping to achieve this is through its partnership with wireless carrier T-Mobile (TMUS) – Get T-Mobile US, Inc. Report.
Through a five-year innovation partnership, the two companies will explore new immersive fan experiences like Mixed Reality and Virtual Presence. They’ll also test new, more efficient ways to capture, produce and distribute content from the studio and remote locations.
“TheStudioLAB itself runs on the power of innovation partnerships from large technology companies and T-Mobile is the wireless company in that mix. And the next five years are going to see some really, frankly, radical changes in the way that we both make cinematic content and the way that audiences and fans consume and enjoy that cinematic content. And 5G brings low latency and high bandwidth to the table,” said Disney Vice President for Content Innovation and StudioLAB Alice Taylor in a Youtube video posted by T-Mobile.
One of the things that 5G networks allow content companies to do is bring more robust, higher fidelity types of entertainment to people that were not possible in the past.
“Together, we will use our leading 5G network to spark new innovations aimed at transforming how entertainment can be produced and experienced,” said T-Mobile President of Technology Neville Ray in a statement.
Fans can be transported and have the experience that they can’t have when watching a game or drama on television. The company is also planning to use 5G to scout a remote movie location.
“The amount of content that is being made by Disney Studios is going up. We have to have our people connected all the time. We need the content in the cloud. Everything in 3D is big. It’s a large size, large format, requires low latency, high bandwidth, fast connections, responsiveness. And what this does is it’s going to unlock new ways of experiencing storytelling and content,” added Taylor.
5G is also expected to cut the lag time before a transfer of data begins allowing for more efficient and faster ways to share large files
T-Mobile also said it is expanding its partnership with energy drinks giant Red Bull on live-action sports using 5G-powered drones and cameras.
In the past, T-Mobile has struck similar partnerships with Major League Baseball, the Drone Racing League, and chip company Qualcomm (QCOM) – Get Qualcomm Inc Report.
