Metaverse is the new buzzword and is booming rapidly, engulfing not just the start-ups, and MNCs but also the film industries across the world. While it is still a new concept for India, several tech and entertainment-based companies are working towards building technology that gives people the taste of the Metaverse when it comes to cinema. 

Wondering what is Metaverse? It is a virtual world that integrates the elements of the physical world within it, thus giving the users access to a new environment and allowing them to interact with people virtually. 

Facebook (Meta) founder Mark Zuckerberg, while explaining Metaverse said, “You’re going to be able to bring things from the physical world into the metaverse. Almost any type of media that can be represented digitally: photos, video, art, music, movies, music, books, games, you name it.”

The Metaverse is a space created on the internet that uses 3-D virtual environments and involves integration between virtual and physical spaces. People can create their own avatar or character that represents them, place that avatar in a virtual space, manipulate them with hardware like VR tools and effectively live a life in this space that includes consuming a variety of art forms and visual entertainment, including cinema. 

What does Metaverse mean for filmmaking?

Metaverse is a big boon for the Indian film industry and it’ll change the way we have experienced cinema. As far as movie-making is concerned, now the shooting can happen in a virtual world via avatars, or scenes shot in the real world can be projected into the Metaverse. So, how will this help? This will reduce the dependence on live locations, crew, and essential filmmaking gears like lights and sound equipment. During this process, if we can save money, that’s still not clear. The amount saved will be used in the hiring of programmers and experts of the Metaverse. The physical deterrents of filmmaking will no longer exist and access will be unrestrained. 

That’s not all, the movie viewing experience will also change as the audience will no longer be required to physically move to a cinema hall or multiplex to watch movies. Their avatars in the digital world will do it for them. Yep, you read that right. 

Hollywood films and TV series like The Matrix, Ready Player One, Free Guy, Westworld, and Black Mirror episode Striking Vipers will help you understand the concept of the Metaverse better.

In India, Vashu Bhagnani’s production house Pooja Entertainment recently announced that it has acquired virtual land in the metaverse for its upcoming projects. It has been named Poojaverse. The trailer of Prabhas starter Radhe Shyam was also released on the Metaverse and gathered a good response from the viewers. This Bhagnani venture will carve out a virtual space for the makers to create immersive and real-life-like experiences for viewers starting with their recently announced project, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff. The film is touted to be the first-ever Indian film to be announced within the Metaverse.

Rudra: The Edge Of Darkness released on Disney Plus Hotstar was also released in Metaverse. KGF: Chapter 2, to be released on April 14th, has also set its sights on the Metaverse, by introducing the world to ‘KGFverse’.

Digital is the future and the companies adapting to the Metaverse now will surely have the first-mover advantage.

(Featured Image Credits: Instagram)