The Astonishing Future of Immersive Live Entertainment | Willie Williams | TED

Translator: Thomas Tam

I would love to show you something brand new

我好想畀你睇啲全新嘅嘢， 啱啱喺拉斯維加斯發生咗啲事。

that just happened in Las Vegas.

(“Even Better Than the Real Thing” by U2 plays)

（U2 播放嘅「仲好過真實嘅嘢」）

（音樂結束）

(Music ends)

(Cheers and applause)

???（加油同掌聲）

Thank you.

Thank you.

多謝。

當然，愛爾蘭搖滾樂隊 U2 喺拉斯維加斯呢個球體開幕嘅表演：

The Irish rock band U2, of course, inaugurating the Sphere in Las Vegas:

a brand new facility

球體係全新嘅設施，

which is somewhere between an IMAX theater and a planetarium,

係介乎 IMAX 影院同天文館兩者之間，

large enough to contain the Statue of Liberty.

內裏夠大容納自由女神像。

After decades of big rock shows being staged mostly in sports facilities

經歷咗幾十年大部分嘅大型搖滾樂 都係喺體育設施上上演，

for 40 shows,

為咗 40 場表演， 每晚有 18,000 人，

18,000 people a night were immersed in sound and vision

我哋以全新嘅形式、 沉浸喺聲音同視覺中。

in a whole new way.

And did anybody go, by the way?

順便問下，有冇人去過？

I know some people did.

有啲人有。

Oh, yeah, OK.

哦，好啦。

有冇人冇去過？

Did anybody not go?

（笑）

(Laughter)

Great, well, then you'll know what I'm talking about.

噉你就知我講緊啲咩。

我係設計同執導現場表演。

So I design and direct live shows.

The foundations of my work were in concert touring,

工作基礎係巡迴演唱會； 我就返工喇，同好有型嘅人一齊工作，

and I got to work with some really cool people,

including George Michael, R.E.M., David Bowie and many more.

包括 George Michael、R.E.M.、 David Bowie 同埋好多人。

And for 40 years I've been creative director for U2's live performances,

同埋我喺 40 年嚟 都係 U2 現場表演嘅創意導演，

going from small clubs to football stadiums

由細嘅俱樂部做到去足球場，

and having done well over 1,000 shows with them

同佢哋一齊做過 超過 1,000 個表演節目，

in 250 cities in 40 countries.

喺 40 個國家嘅 250 個城市。

Yeah, it's been a journey.

係呀，呢個係唔簡單嘅經歷。

I head up U2's long-standing creative team,

我負責 U2 嘅長壽創作團隊，

同埋每次我哋去拍新表演節目，

and every time we go to make a new show,

都係嘗試重新創作嘅形式，

we're trying to reinvent the form in some way,

starting with a blank slate

由一張白紙開始， 同埋跳出之前嘅一切嘢。

and chucking out everything that's gone before.

Except for one thing,

只係除咗一樣嘢，

which is always the goal of creating emotional connection

建立觀眾同表演者之間情感嘅連結， 呢個係永遠嘅目標。

between the audience and the performers.

So in the very early '80s,

所以喺 80 年代初期，

U2 係建立喺 punk 嘅根源上面，

U2 was building on the roots of punk,

which came from this very pure and minimal place

呢個根源嚟自純粹同最低限度，

where making any effort at all with your stage visuals

用你嘅舞台視覺效果 去做任何努力

was considered extremely gauche and very uncool.

都會被視為極度庸俗同唔夠型。

But as the scale of U2 shows increased,

但隨住 U2 表演嘅規模增大，

we coined the phrase “maximum minimalism,”

我哋創造咗「最大 極簡主義」呢句說話，

and that got us into a place

呢個令我哋進入咗一個、

where we could kind of hang on to some of this imagined authenticity

可以喺滿足競技場 同足球場嘅需要嘅同時、

whilst catering to the needs of playing arenas and football stadiums.

保持一啲想像中嘅真實性。

And it really worked.

而且好有效。

I mean, the raw energy of those shows was incredible,

嗰啲節目有原始能量， 真係難以置信，

but from a design point of view,

但從設計角度來講，

there's really only so far you can take that idea before you hit a wall.

你只喺你撞牆之前嘅短距離 接受呢個諗法。

So we were looking for new possibilities in visual storytelling

所以我哋搵緊新嘅可能性 講述視覺嘅故事。

and through the '90s,

喺 90 年代，

completely fell in love with all the new emerging visual technologies

完全愛上咗 所有新興視覺技術，

and so embraced those, threw away the handbook

掉咗本手冊， 擁抱佢哋，

and decided to see what we could do with them.

同決定睇下 用佢哋能做啲咩。

And on a pair of U2 tours, "Zoo TV" and "Popmart,"

喺 U2 巡迴演出，「Zoo TV」 同「 Popmart 」入面，

we pretty much introduced the style of multiscreen, big-video presentation

我哋差唔多介紹咗多屏幕、 大視頻呈現嘅新風格，

that’s still around today in concert touring.

喺今日嘅演唱會 同巡迴演唱會入面仍然存在。

And that included, for “Popmart,”

而當中包括「 Popmart 」，

the building of the world's very first stadium-scale LED video screen,

建造世界上第一個 體育館規模嘅 LED 視頻屏幕，

which was hand-built from components for the tour.

呢個屏幕係由巡迴演出嘅組件手工製作。

They're not unambitious, these people.

呢班人，佢哋唔係冇野心。

Since then, we've made shows large and small,

從此，我哋就開始咗 大大小小嘅表演，

some leading into audio-visual ideas,

有啲導致視聽嘅想法， 有啲採取更加建築嘅立場，

others taking a more architectural stance

and along the way collaborating with a veritable who's who

同當代藝術界 名副其實嘅名人合作。

of the contemporary art world.

But always with the goal of trying to challenge and reinvent

但係都係以嘗試為目標，

去挑戰同重新創造 搖滾音樂會可以係點樣嘅概念。

the notion of what a rock concert can be.

After 40 years of reinvention,

經過 40 年嘅重塑，

I suppose maybe there was another wall looming.

我諗可能有另一幅牆喺前面，

So when we heard about this new building that was going up in Las Vegas,

當聽到有新建築物 喺拉斯維加斯出現，

我哋就去睇下。

we went to check it out.

And the Sphere is designed essentially for showing movies

而 Sphere 基本上 係為咗以巨大規模、

at humongous scale,

at extremely high resolution.

播放極高解像度電影而設計。

But I found myself looking at the space

但係我發現自己望住個空間，

and wondering if there was some other way

諗緊有冇其他方法

可以喺呢個包圍住嘅 沉浸式空間入面做啲嘢。

that we might be able to inhabit this wrap-around immersive space.

And the thing that occurred to me, the thing that really struck me,

而真正令我驚訝 就係冇角落。

was the absence of corners.

We navigate space via corners,

我哋能夠透過角落導航空間，

and you know how big the room is that you're in

你知道你喺間房有幾大，

because you can see the corners, and that helps you feel grounded.

因為睇到角落， 噉樣會幫到你感到接地氣。

Whereas at the Sphere, not only are there no corners,

而喺球體，唔單止冇角落，

but I wondered if we were to introduce virtual corners of our own,

但我想知道係咪要介紹 我哋嘅虛擬角落，

would we be able to manipulate the audience's sense of perspective

因此可否操縱觀眾嘅視角，

and apparently alter the space radically?

同埋擺明係根本改變咗個空間？

So I made a whole load of test material

所以我整咗成個測試嘅材料，

and was absolutely overjoyed at how well it worked.

同埋對佢嘅效果感到好高興。

人嘅腦好想加入嗰個錯覺 真係非同凡響。

The degree to which your brain wants to buy into the illusion is extraordinary.

And I found that I could take the Sphere

而我發現我攞到個球體

and turn it into an infinitely tall cylinder,

同埋將佢變成 無限高嘅圓柱體，

and then maybe into a cube,

然後變成個立方體，

and then bring the roof down on top of everybody.

然後將屋頂放低喺所有人之上。

And everything you're seeing,

同見到所有嘢，

呢啲都只係 喺曲面上面嘅影片。

all of this is just video on a curved surface.

But what it informed me

但係佢話畀我嘅嘢

was that I needed to stop thinking about this as being a screen

係我需要停止將呢個當係一個畫面，

and start thinking of it as being a place,

同埋開始將佢當係一個、 立體視聽嘅空間，

a three-dimensional audio-visual space,

and that the kind of environments that would work here

同埋呢度適合嘅環境 可能係你會為 VR 整嘅嘢，

might be the kind of thing you'd make for VR,

rather than for cinema.

而唔係用嚟睇戲噉。

Now to make the illusion work, it’s vital never to break the spell.

而家要令個錯覺， 永遠持續唔會被打破最重要。

So this sense of place has to be established

喺觀眾去到嗰度之前 所以要建立呢個身處其境嘅感覺。

before the viewer even gets there.

And when the U2 audience arrived at the Sphere,

而當 U2 觀眾到達球體時，

佢哋行入呢個巨大嘅光學錯覺。

they walked into this gigantic optical illusion.

The scale of it really was shocking.

佢嘅規模真係令人震驚。

And they walked into this thing

而佢哋行咗去入面，

which looked like an oversized version of the Pantheon in Rome,

呢個睇落好似 羅馬超大版嘅萬神殿，

but made out of giant concrete slabs and open to the night sky.

但係用巨型混凝土板製成， 向夜空開放。

And I used to love eavesdropping on audience conversations

而我以前都好鍾意 偷聽觀眾嘅對話，

啲人只係想搞清楚 佢哋睇緊啲咩，

with people just trying to figure out what they were looking at,

邊啲係真嘅，咩又唔係。

you know, what was real and what wasn't.

But it had a genuine materiality that was really hard to resist.

但係佢有一種真正嘅物質性， 真係好難抗拒。

所以隨住時間嘅推移， 我加入咗一啲功能，

So over time, I added some features to make it even harder to resist.

令到佢更加難以抗拒。

My favorite being this pigeon,

我最鍾意呢隻白鴿，

which used to live up in the roof space

以前喺屋頂空間入面住， 同埋定期飛嚟飛去，

and periodically fly around

before eventually escaping through the oculus.

最終直至見唔到。

And I put in a helium balloon, like a kid's helium balloon,

而我放咗個氦氣球， 好似小朋友嘅氦氣球噉，

that got stuck in the roof, like it happens at a shopping mall.

卡咗喺屋頂， 好似喺商場發生嘅事噉。

And there was a work light that would come on and flicker.

同埋有個工作燈 會亮起同閃爍。

然後就係演出時間，

And then right at show time,

we'd fly the band's helicopter over the roof

樂隊將會喺直升機飛過屋頂，

有個適合嘅配樂。

with a suitable soundtrack.

而家喺現實檢查中， 樂隊其實唔係搭直升機去旅行，

Now in a reality check, the band doesn’t actually travel by helicopter,

and none of this is real anyway.

反正呢啲都唔係真實嘅。

But the point is,

但重點係，

you are in this environment for over an hour

你喺呢個環境入面 超過一個鐘，

and you never stop believing in it.

你永遠都唔會停止相信佢。

And that's before the show even started.

而呢個係發生喺個表演開始之前。

So during the show, we immerse the audience in new worlds,

所以喺表演期間， 會令觀眾沉浸喺新世界入面，

overwhelm their senses, push the horizon back to infinity,

壓倒佢哋嘅感官，將地平線 推返去無限遠，變形房間，

shape-shift the room,

and then eventually make the building disappear altogether

然後最終令到嗰座建築物完全消失， 同埋喺外面透出咗拉斯維加斯。

and reveal Las Vegas outside.

So this is the moment that we find ourselves in,

所以呢個係我哋發現 自己身處嘅時刻，

an entire audience's sensory perception being choreographed by the artist

由藝術家編舞、 整個觀眾嘅感官感知，

on a scale that overwhelms the physical being.

喺一個壓倒物理存在嘅規模上。

And U2's music,

同埋 U2 嘅音樂，

the emotive power of that music performed in this environment,

喺呢個環境下 演奏音樂嘅情感力量，

that was what was so new, that produced something really unprecedented.

產生咗一啲真正前所未有嘅嘢。

Well to say it was well received would be something of an understatement.

好啦話佢受到好評 係有啲輕描淡寫。

批評者大讚，互聯網搞亂曬。

The critics raved, the internet broke.

A whole new era of live entertainment was declared

宣布一個全新嘅現場娛樂時代，

to the point where the reviews themselves were being reviewed.

評論之中又有評論。

(Laughter)

（笑）

Some irony, I think, but I'll take it.

我覺得有啲諷刺，但我會接受。

I mean, jeez, you don't get that very often.

唔係經常能得到噉嘅情況。

But what was more remarkable

但係有咩更值得留意，

was that it was just a couple of years after,

係咪只係過咗兩年，

you know, we all wondered if we'd ever be able

我哋都好想知、會唔會可以

to gather thousands of people together ever again.

再次將成千上萬人聚集埋一齊。

而疫情係個好陰暗嘅時候，

And the pandemic was, it was a really bleak time

for everybody involved in live entertainment.

為所有參與現場娛樂嘅人而設。

And I know you guys at TED had a tough time with it, too.

我知道你哋喺 TED 都經歷過段艱難嘅時期。

But the brightest minds of the industry,

但係呢個行業最聰明嘅頭腦，

by way of compensation, started to come up with alternatives.

以補償嘅方式， 開始想出替代方案。

而見到一啲真係有趣嘅想法。

And we saw some really interesting ideas.

我哋見到有 XR 工作室嘅建設用嚟直播

We saw the construction of XR studios for live broadcast

and concerts for VR headsets

同埋 VR 耳機嘅音樂會，

and virtual audiences like this,

同埋呢啲噉嘅虛擬觀眾，

participating in real-time, online.

即時、網上參與，

And really interesting ideas.

呢啲係有趣嘅想法。

They got a ton of attention, loads and loads of investment.

佢哋受到好多人嘅關注， 大量嘅投資。

直到封鎖結束，

Until lockdown ended,

喺呢個時候， 冇人再提過佢哋。

at which point nobody ever mentioned them again.

(Laughter)

（笑）

So I've got to tell you, for those of us that do this for a living,

我所以要同你哋講， 對於我哋為咗生計嘅人嚟講，

it was profoundly humbling to realize

意識到呢件事係令人謙卑嘅，

that we can reproduce every part of the live experience

我哋可以重現 現場體驗嘅每一部分

apart from the bit the audience actually wants the most.

除咗觀眾最想要嘅嘢之外。

原來，人類係被近距離所吸引。

Look it turns out, humans are drawn to proximity.

We want to come together in a specific place in real time

我哋想喺特定嘅地方， 即時聚集埋一齊

to share an experience,

分享一個經驗，

kind of like we're doing this week.

好似今個星期做緊嘅嘢噉。

And it's been my task to understand how audiences work.

而我嘅任務係要明白 觀眾係點樣運作。

And there's certainly something to learn from our response

而我哋嘅回應 當然係有啲嘢學到，

當我哋望住海洋 或者夜空嘅時候，

as we look out at the ocean or up at the night sky,

where our minds are using a combination of vision and imagination

頭腦係用緊視覺同想像力嘅組合，

to create an emotional response that can inspire us

創造一個啟發 我哋嘅情緒反應，

or sometimes completely overwhelm us.

或者有時完全壓倒我哋。

But the interesting thing is,

但有趣嘅係，

我哋好需要呢個回應， 所以佢仍然有效，

we so need this response that it still works,

就算我哋嘅理性頭腦知道 睇緊嘅嘢唔係真實嘅。

even if our rational minds know that what we're looking at isn't real.

Hence the power of great works of art.

因此，偉大藝術品嘅力量。

Now the Renaissance painters hit upon the use of perspective

而家文藝復興時期嘅畫家 就開始使用透視，

to create apparently three-dimensional worlds

創造出表面上係三維嘅世界，

根據觀眾所知道嘅嘢 一定要係一個平面。

on what the viewer knew had to be a flat plane.

And our brain insists it's real,

而個腦堅持呢個係真嘅，

even though we know it's just marks on canvas.

就算我哋知道 佢只係畫布上嘅痕跡。

But better yet,

但係更好嘅係，

the use of perspective allows the viewer

透視嘅使用令到觀眾可以

to forget the technique completely

完全忘記咗個技巧，

and surrender to the content of the image

同埋投降於圖像嘅內容，

in a more profound and emotional way.

以一種更深刻嘅情緒去體驗。

But we're still separated from the image here.

但係我哋仍然同呢度嘅圖像分開。

We're still outsiders looking in,

我哋仲係外人望入去，

whereas at the Sphere we all together,

而喺球體我哋一齊，

performers and audience, traveled through the picture frame,

表演者同觀眾穿過相框、

through the proscenium and ended up as part of the environment.

經過舞台、最後都係 作為環境嘅一部分。

And it really was quite something.

而且真係有啲嘢。

It was like VR without a headset.

就好似冇耳機嘅 VR 噉。

Although with a couple of important differences.

雖然有一兩個重要嘅分別。

In his novel "Rainbow's End,"

喺佢嘅小說《彩虹盡頭》入面，

the writer Vernor Vinge envisaged a world

作家 Vernor Vinge 設想咗個世界

that doesn't seem too far away now,

距離而家似乎唔係太遠，

where everybody, through the use of wearable AR technology,

每個人都可以透過使用 可穿戴 AR 技術，

could create their own bespoke artificial environments.

可以創造自己嘅 定制人工環境。

Now, with this U2 show, the environments were artificial,

而家，有呢個 U2 表演， 環境係人為嘅，

but they were also shared,

但係佢哋亦都可被分享，

all of us experiencing it together in real life.

我哋所有人都喺現實生活中 一齊經歷呢件事。

And much as I do believe that gaming and certain other online activities

同埋我好相信遊戲 同埋某啲其他網上活動，

can produce a real sense of connection,

可以產生真正嘅聯繫感，

it was the physical proximity here that produced something so profound

係呢度嘅物理鄰近，先至產生咗 一啲咁深刻嘅嘢，同埋影響。

and so affecting.

And U2's music, just the music,

同埋 U2 嘅音樂，只係音樂，

the original immersive experience performed in this environment,

喺呢個環境入面 表演喺原始沉浸式體驗，

music can bring us together,

音樂將我哋聚集埋一齊，

and it allows us to forget ourselves as we become part of something larger,

而且令我哋忘記自己， 成為咗一個更大事物嘅一部分，

looking up at something so glorious and so magnificent.

抬頭望住一啲咁光輝 同咁壯觀嘅嘢。

But we've seen this before, right?

但係之前都見過呢個，係咪？

We recognize this from somewhere.

我哋喺某個地方認出呢個，

The cathedral builders,

大教堂嘅建造者， 係對表演事業知道一兩樣嘢。

they knew a thing or two about show business.

They were very good at it,

佢哋好叻，

and they were not afraid of working at scale,

佢哋唔驚大規模嘅工作，

being the original practitioners of what we call in the business:

係我哋所謂 商業嘅原始從業員：

"Go big or go home."

「做大或者返屋企。」

（笑）

(Laughter)

And look, the amount of time, the amount of resources

同埋睇下，時間同資源有幾多，

poured into the building of these places over centuries

喺幾世紀以嚟， 放入呢啲嘅建築，

tells us that we've been feeling for this experience

使到我哋一直對呢個有感覺，

for as long as we've been human.

只要我哋係人類。

Awe and wonder placed under the control of the artist.

敬畏同奇妙放喺藝術家嘅控制之下。

And today, we have the most powerful tools we've ever had to do this.

而今日，我哋有史以來 用最強大嘅工具去做到呢一啲。

So what's our motivation here?

噉我哋喺呢度嘅動機係咩呢？

You know, what's our goal in doing this?

你知唔知，做呢件事嘅目標係咩？

Well for me, in my work,

對我嚟講，工作中，

I only have one goal, which is to bring people together,

我只有一個目標， 即係將啲人帶埋一齊，

to share some joy and to share some magic

分享一啲歡樂同分享一啲魔法，

and to make genuine emotional connection

同埋建立真正嘅感情聯繫，

for the audience,

與觀眾、表演者彼此及呢首音樂，

with the performers and with each other and with this music,

which means something unique and personal to everyone who attends.

呢個對每個參加者嚟講都意味住 一啲獨特同個人化嘅嘢。

And in that moment open up the possibility

而喺嗰一刻開啟咗有個可能性，

喺陌生人之間建立同理心，

of creating empathy between strangers

who might not agree on anything else.

佢哋係喺其他嘢上、唔一致嘅人。

It's a small thing, but it's a start.

呢個只係小事，係一個開始。

And that's what my particular brand of magic exists for.

而我呢個特定品牌魔法 就係為咗呢個目的而存在。

Well, that and giving people a really, really good time.

好啦，呢個畀人 真係好好嘅時光。

(Laughter)

（笑）

(“Vertigo” by U2 plays)

（ U2 嘅《眩暈》播放）

（音樂結束）

(Music ends)

Thank you, have a great week.

多謝，祝你有個愉快嘅星期。

(Applause and cheers)

（掌聲同歡呼）