The play "The Isle" was recorded live at the National Theatre. Courtesy of the National Theatre
A Mexican music teacher broadcasts a music lesson at her home in Mexico City. Image China
In February 2022, visitors experience an immersive digital exhibition at a digital art center in Bordeaux, France. Image China
Affected by the covid-19 pandemic, Shakespeare's Bookstore, an iconic bookstore in Paris, France, has promoted online book shopping. The picture shows the staff sorting out the books to be sent out in the bookstore. Image China
Society continues to develop and progress, and people's spiritual and cultural life is becoming more and more colorful. How to make culture and art more convenient for daily life and present it more vividly through the continuous innovation of cultural consumption patterns, so that people can better feel the touch brought by dramas, books and works of art, some countries have made useful attempts
The United Kingdom --
"Cloud Theater" brings a new trend
Reporter Xing Xue
British theatre is known for its rich diversity and quality. Dating back to the 9th century, it is still enduring and rejuvenated today. As an important part of the Uk's cultural industry, more than 500 theatres in the UK generated billions of pounds (£1 or about 8.37 yuan) a year before the outbreak of covid-19.
In 2009, the British National Theatre began to implement the "National Theatre Live" project, which strives to cover more people outside the theater through high-definition live broadcast and broadcasting, and the project has become one of the main driving forces for the digitization and imaging of drama. The historic Shakespeare Globe Theatre has also developed a digital platform and launched more than 130 professionally filmed theatrical works, providing new options for residents' cultural consumption.
After the outbreak of the epidemic, British drama has increased its efforts to shift to online, and the "cloud theater" has brought a new trend to the theater industry. Beginning in late 2020, the National Theatre launched a paid streaming service for the "National Theatre at Home". The first-line works include a number of digital versions of live performance works such as "One Servant and Two Lords", "Jane Eyre" and "Mozart's Biography", with a single payment of 5.99 to 7.99 pounds, and less than 10 pounds per month, which is popular with the audience. In 2020, the National Theatre also launched a free digital version of 16 productions on the online video platform, garnering 15 million views in 173 countries.
Rufus Norris, director of the British National Theatre, believes that the launch of theatrical performances on digital platforms meets the needs of people to watch plays on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also brings new revenue and profit models to theaters affected by the epidemic. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the once prosperous British theatre industry has been hit hard, with ticket revenue plummeting by 90%, a number of theatres in London's West End on the verge of closure, and the prestigious Grand Theatre being shut down due to a serious financial crisis. In order to survive, large theatre institutions represented by the British National Theatre have tested the waters first and opened a digital archive of some performances. Since then, some new attempts have been gradually advanced, some theaters have begun to create or perform for "cloud theaters", the income obtained by theaters on digital platforms has been divided with playwrights and cooperative theaters, and a new cultural production and consumption model has gradually formed and improved.
During the implementation of the "National Theatre Live" project, the British National Theatre tried to establish a new connection between actors and audiences, and to preserve the feeling of live performance as much as possible when producing online products: using high-definition cameras during shooting, live broadcasting or broadcasting for online audiences in cultural venues such as cinemas; technically maintaining the beauty of the drama as much as possible, providing the audience with a dynamic and complete stage picture, conveying the details of the actors' performances, and bringing psychological closeness to the audience.
After more than a decade of development, "National Theatre Scene" has become a well-known cultural brand, covering more than 2,500 venues in more than 60 countries. Within the UK, the project has reached 90% coverage in cinemas, receiving positive feedback from collaborating artists and audiences around the world. According to the staff of the British National Theatre, the largest demand volume of the project so far is "Hamlet" starring the well-known British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, which has attracted more than one million people around the world before the epidemic, and the star drama has obvious advantages in promotion.
The "National Theatre Live" theatrical productions are beautifully designed and produced, providing a rare opportunity for many people who rarely have the opportunity to go to London's West End to watch live theatre. Some analysts believe that the West End of London in the United Kingdom and Broadway in the United States have concentrated a large number of excellent English dramas, and these existing cultural brand resources are the key factors for the success of "Cloud Theater". The launch of the "Cloud Theater" not only benefits the audience at home due to the epidemic, but also allows more audiences who are inconvenient to come to the scene to have a new theater viewing experience, schools, nursing homes and other institutions can access richer cultural resources, and a number of classic drama works can also be better promoted.
Some analysts also pointed out that whether the online cultural consumption form represented by the "cloud theater" can continue to be observed for a long time. Since the second half of 2021, 42% of large theatres and more than 80% of medium-sized, small and miniature theatres have moved back to offline performances. British scholar and director Richard Misco believes that on the one hand, the profit model of "cloud theater" is still being explored, and its supervision is also in the process of exploration; on the other hand, small and medium-sized theaters have limited manpower and lack sufficient time and energy to start or maintain digital projects. In addition, some insiders believe that the on-site relationship between the actors and the audience is the key to the success of the play, and the live audience is an important part of the play.
Or sit in the theater to experience the beauty of the drama, or walk into the cinema to watch a live broadcast of a play, or pick up a mobile phone or tablet to screen a play at home - no matter how the audience chooses, technological changes provide more possibilities for the dissemination of theater, provide a broader space for the development of this long-established industry, and also provide a more diversified cultural consumption experience for the audience.
France -
Museums speed up "cloud access"
Reporter Liu Lingling
Volcanoes erupt, lava rushes, and the audience is immersed in a burst of amazement... This is the stunning digitally stunning "Pompeii" exhibition launched by the Grand Palais in Paris, which uses immersive 3D images to recreate Pompeii and modern archaeological sites. The researchers used drone lenses, laser mapping, infrared imaging and photogrammetry to bring Pompeii back to life. The exhibition was a great success, attracting more than 200,000 visitors.
"Digital exhibitions are different from traditional exhibitions, which can break through the limitations of time and space, and at the same time use interactive display methods to let the audience learn knowledge in the appreciation and realize an inspiring museum trip, so more and more museums are beginning to explore this kind of exhibition method." Roé Amit, head of the digital department at the Paris Cultural Institute, said. Recently, in the area of the new Arc de Triomphe in the business district of La Défense, a suburb of Paris, France, an immersive VR (virtual reality) experience exhibition called "Eternal Notre Dame de Paris" was held, which also attracted a large number of local people and tourists to visit.
In recent years, France's major museums and historical and cultural institutions have focused on the use of digital technology to create new cultural dissemination, experience and consumption patterns. Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the pace of the French museum industry 'climbing the cloud and entering the network' has been further accelerated, providing convenience for the public to "see the exhibition in the cloud". Taking the Louvre as an example, during the epidemic prevention and control period, the Louvre gradually updated the museum's website, further optimized the online tour experience, and displayed all the cultural relics in the collection online for the first time. The website categorizes collections by category and theme, supports advanced search and interactive map experiences, and enables netizens to "immerse themselves" in the classic collections. The data shows that compared with before the epidemic, the number of applicants for online art history courses launched by the Louvre Academy has increased, and the online sales of cultural and creative products such as postcards and picture albums have also increased significantly.
At present, more and more museums in France have developed separate tour applications that provide offline guided tours and explanations. In addition, the form of the exhibition also makes more use of digital technology, which is very attractive to young people who love new things and a sense of technology. The recently concluded "Let's Start, Movie" exhibition of the Orsay Museum, in addition to presenting conventional pictures and paintings, also uses multimedia information technology, three-dimensional image production and other technologies, so that the audience can more intuitively experience the excitement of the moment of the birth of the film.
According to the annual data recently released by the French Cultural Institute, the number of visitors to French museums in 2021 has increased compared with 2020, but there is still a big gap between the pre-epidemic tourists. The analysis of the "French Culture" website pointed out that with the help of digital information technology and platforms such as mobile applications, live broadcasts, VR services and multimedia interactive devices, not only will the form of offline exhibitions be reshaped in the future, but online exhibitions will also be more abundant and convenient to meet the diversified needs of the audience.
"Whether it's an online lecture, a virtual tour, or an online video campaign for an exhibition, the internet and digital technology have helped us retain remote visitors." Galle Rio, director of the Museum of Romantic Life in Paris, pointed out that France has a number of world-famous and rich museums such as the Louvre museum and the Pompidou Center, and at a time when the epidemic has not subsided, digital technology has helped these museums cross the boundaries of time and space and continuously provide artistic nourishment for the audience.
Brazil --
Book blind boxes drive industrial development
Bi Mengying, a reporter of this newspaper
In the Brazilian city of Santos, there is a street bookstore called Realezhu, which has become a local cultural landmark in the past 20 years of development. During the covid-19 epidemic prevention and control period, bookstores were forced to suspend business, and bookstore owner TaHan turned to using online methods to strengthen the promotion and sales of books.
In the bookstore with its doors closed, Tahan pulls out his camera, adjusts the lights, and introduces new books to customers through social media. The meticulously taken photos, accompanied by wonderful text introductions, and Tahan's own unique interpretation of the book have attracted many customers. In the recommended categories, Tahan also selected some practical books related to home isolation, diet and exercise, mental health, and digital management. Customers shop online, bookstores not only offer delivery services, but also preferential prices, and Real Leizhu's social media accounts quickly increased to thousands of fans.
Before the outbreak of the epidemic, The Real Leizhu Bookstore regularly held a variety of activities such as literary salons, book clubs, signing parties, and open classes. The bookstore has also launched an international literary festival, which has attracted many authors from Brazil and other Latin American countries, and has been successfully held for 14 years so far. During the epidemic prevention and control period, the public's cultural consumption of books has not decreased. "The companionship of books has helped people who are isolated at home during the epidemic to resolve loneliness." Tahan said that after a difficult time with the customers of the bookstore under the epidemic, everyone's hearts have become closer.
According to a report released by the Brazilian National Association of Book Publishers, Brazil's national book sales in 2021 will be 55 million copies, an increase of nearly 30% over 2020, and book sales revenue will increase by nearly 30% to 2.28 billion reais (1 reais about 1.27 yuan). Side, the association's president, commented that it was surprising that the book industry had grown so significantly against the backdrop of a severe impact on global economic activities.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, many bookstores in Brazil have used websites, social media and other channels to promote books and increase investment in online sales. The Brazilian Book Chamber of Commerce has joined hands with major e-commerce and logistics companies to help small and medium-sized bookstores that are more vulnerable to strengthen network publicity, sales channel construction and maintenance. Tavarez, president of the Brazilian Book Chamber of Commerce, said that this will not only promote the development of the Brazilian book industry, but also promote people's reading.
At the same time, some more novel book consumption patterns began to enter people's lives. A few days ago, her friend Daniela happily showed reporters the blind box of books she had just received. The box is painted with a cup of coffee, a book, a planet, an hourglass, and a sentence next to it: "Your literary journey begins now." This is a book consumption model launched by tag, brazil's monthly book subscription website, which has been widely welcomed by readers and won the Quantum Innovation Award at the London Book Fair in 2018.
Founded in 2014, TAG has grown from just 65 subscribers to 55,000 members and more than 2,600 cities in Brazil. TAG sends readers a blind box of books every month, including a hardcover hardcover book recommended by a well-known author, a magazine related to the author and his work, and a customized music playlist. The cultural and creative products such as random bookmarks and exquisite blind boxes have become the beloved collections of many readers. "We understand these carefully selected books as a gateway to others, to reflect on the world, and to acquire diversity. We provide a space for dialogue, openness and welcome, on which books and reading are the foundations. DanBros, one of the site's founders, said.
Daniela said that during the stay-at-home quarantine, she read book discussions on relevant websites and mobile apps almost every day, which reduced her loneliness and gave her a group of friends she had never met. "The experience of subscribing to a TAG blind box has gone far beyond the books themselves. Every month, there are new expectations and surprises for new books, and there are also new goals and new feelings after reading new books. ”
People are quarantined at home and have more time to read or listen to books, and the e-publishing market is growing rapidly. According to the relevant report, the total revenue of Brazil's electronic publishing industry reached 147 million reais in 2020, and the real growth after adjusting for inflation was 36%. Among them, audiobooks, which account for only 8% of the sales volume of the electronic publishing industry, increased by 81% year-on-year. Pereira, former president of the Brazilian National Association of Book Publishers, believes that e-books and audiobooks are still relatively unfamiliar to Brazilian readers, but the growth rate is very impressive. Compared with online shopping for physical books, e-books and audiobooks are more convenient, and resources are available immediately after payment. In addition, a number of streaming media platforms have also paid more attention to enriching the audio content database, and invited the favorite film and television actors of latin Americans to read and voice the audiobooks, and launched a variety of subscription packages to attract users.
Typography: Cai Huawei
People's Daily ( 2022-03-22 18th edition)