The concept of Interactive Video has been gaining strength in recent years, being widely used as an educational tool. However, to date there is no definitive definition of interactive video. This page seeks an approach to the most used concept of interactive video.
Introduction
Video is the king of multimedia content on the Internet. Hundreds of them are viewed daily from mobile devices, computers and smart TVs. In the early days, you had to download them to view them on your device. Then came YouTube and the like that allowed you to watch live or streaming videos.
Until now, the user interacts with the videos using the typical pause, rewind and play controls. But what if we could interact within the video as if we were in the center of the scene? It is something that for now is only available in games. Hence, interactive video represents another advance in the evolution of this type of multimedia content. Thanks to interactive video, we went from being spectators to being part of the video we are watching.
Interaction video is a video (produced with traditional techniques) to which data has been added that enriches it from the point of view of its global content. Under the term interactive video, many systems are used, and not all with the same degree of complexity. Approaching your study may seem complicated as there is no fixed definition of interactive video. Despite this, talking about interactive video means referring to the conjunction of the possibilities offered by video technology and computer technology. The interactive video would therefore include the didactic characteristics of both.
Interaction video, as a result of the fusion of two powerful electronic media: video and computing, enables the combination of the power of evocation of the image with the capacity for dialogue (interactivity) of computing media. And, the possible applications of such technologies extend over a very broad spectrum. Therefore, interactive video hosts a multitude of possible configurations that range from simple video equipment to complex systems made up of video equipment, computers, peripherals, etc.
The benefits of using an interactive video over other types of video are:
They are able to better attract the user’s attention.
User immersion with the story of the video: the person is one more actor who gets involved in the video and interacts with it.
Allows analysis of how the user interacts with the video
Great effectiveness for learning.
Data types
The data that we add to a traditional video and in this way make it interactive, can be classified into:
Visible Examples of this can be:
Access to documents in different formats.
Audio
Simulations
Animations etc
Invisibles An example of this may be linking different interaction video.
Types of Interactive Videos
Among the most common types of interactive videos that have been developed in recent years, we have:
Conversational Videos
They allow the user to interact with a interaction video in a turn-based manner, almost as if the user is having a simple conversation with the characters in the video.
One such example is the ad campaign for Burger King, titled The Subservient Chicken. In this campaign the user could write different actions and the actions indicated by the user were shown in the video.
Another example of a conversational video is: “A conversation with Ian “, a video in which the actor Sir Ian McKellen can be asked questions about his opinions of different plays he has starred in. Video organized by the National Theater of the United Kingdom.
The Israeli government did something similar to the above to talk with then President Shimon Peres.
Customizable Videos
They allow the user to adjust some variables and then display the personalized video with the user’s particular preferences. However, the user does not actually interact with the video while it is playing.
Characteristic examples of this type of video are:
Volkswagen advertising video, in which you can customize the car in question.
Mini advertising video, the same as the previous one.
Music video of the song Electric Feel by the group MGMC, in this video you could customize some colors of the environment.
Exploration videos
They are intended to simulate a performance of limited movement, in such a way that it seems that the user is moving during the video to the point to which he wishes. At the moment of truth the sensation of movement is minimal. The effect is achieved by repeatedly playing parts of the video in a loop.
Applied in museums and exhibitions; Two examples of this type of interactive video are the videos created by Martin Percy for the Tate Gallery ‘s “ The BT Series ” and “ Tate Tracks ” exhibitions .
Interactive video components
In an interactive video, a wide variety of components can be introduced through which the user can interact with the video in one way or another. The most important are the following:
Video Choice
Component that breaks with narrative linearity. Various decision points are presented and based on the viewer’s choice, the story changes.
Video Commerce
Component that turns the video into a kind of online store where the viewer can see and buy products without having to leave the video. The user can mark the products that appear in the video through annotations that, when clicked, display product sheets with a button to be able to buy the product.
Video catcher
Component that tries to turn a video into a game: the clearest expression of gamification applied to a video.
Video quiz
Component that allows collecting data related to the opinion and preferences of viewers.
