In our role as the BFI Broader Screen Champion, we supported FAN members Nottingham Film Festival (NFF) to screen a programme of VR Shorts as part of the wider festival. This post evaluates the process, shares audience feedback and documents learnings.

NNF is an annual festival, based out of Mammoth - the Climate Action Cinema based on Broad Street, Nottingham, that aims to bring the film community together through a programme of short films, feature films and VR work. Its focus is on climate action and community building and networking across a 7 day festival. 

We supported programmer Mark Morgan to identify and experience the VR works, assess the quality, broker licenses and manage the planning and delivery of the VR shorts programme. 

3 VR shorts were presented including The Time Before by Leo Metcalf, MAYA: The Birth of a Superhero by Poulomi Basu and co-directed by CJ Clarke and and Paint to Pixel by MBD. These titles offered a range of stories and levels of interaction for audiences, considering the breadth of audiences that attend the festival. 

We offered a menu of 3 VR works for free via a drop-in event. The 3 titles worked well; most audiences stayed to try at least 2 works, and many stayed for all 3 and having a printed menu of titles with a description was useful (Storyfutures approach). 

We presented the VR Shorts in Broadway’s Mezz lounge, as a drop in space next to the upstairs bar. This space worked well - a balance of privacy (in terms of sound bleed and not being a spectacle for passers-by) and communal setting with enough space for waiting audiences (on the cinema seating or in the bar next door). Swivel chairs worked well, and having extra spare headsets meant battery life was easy to manage. 

We trained Broadway FOH staff to support the event and they picked up the VR delivery relatively easily with basic training and seemed confident managing the tech and audience experience during the event. Overall, a very successful VR showcasing event. Feedback from Mark Morgan, NFF Programmer:

‘Having support from Broader Screen Champions allowed us to expand the audience for emerging forms of exhibition. Their expertise in hosting and managing this event, as well as the space they were able to provide, was invaluable for our festival. Hearing feedback that audience members were engaged and would be happy to have the events ticketed in future encourages us to continue with VR programming, and the support of Broadway and VIP Studios in Nottingham is greatly appreciated.’

If you are interested in hosting a broader screen event in your venue or community, get in touch to book a free 1:2:1 consultation.

VR Shorts Audiences

Around 65-75 audiences came to the VR shorts events.

Audience feedback was gathered by students at University of Nottingham, managed by Helen Kennedy and Sarah Martindale. The audience survey feedback data comprised 15 audience responses. This data showed:

  • A full coverage of audience age ranges (16-65+). 
  • Most found out about the event via word of mouth. 
  • The Time Before was the most-watched from this group, Maya second and Paint to Pixel third. This could be due to the length of The Time Before being shorter, and it needing less VR interaction for first-time users. 
  • 14 of 15 audiences stated that the VR experience was much more or slightly more engaging than watching a traditional film.
  • Some audiences reported feeling dizzy coming out of the experiences - having a space where audiences can sit for a few minutes after their experience can be useful. The cinema seats at the side of the Mezz space worked well for this. 
  • 11 of 15 surveyed had not booked anything else in the Film Festival.
  • 8 of 15 surveyed said that having experienced the VR shorts, they would consider booking another show in the wider festival, which is a positive outcome.
  • One respondent said, "I really liked it and really appreciate it being run for free. I’d be interested in further events like this even if ticketed", evidencing the potential for running future VR events.

How we supported Nottingham Film Festival as Broader Screen Champions:

  • Initial consultation and advice
  • Testing the VR work to advise on quality/content/themes
  • Licensing advice
  • Planning the showcasing approach (menu or several spaces with different works available)
  • Practical planning (chairs, space, headsets, FOH)
  • Setting up VR headsets and kit for the event (loading VR works, setting up hand-tracking, cleaning processes, etc.)
  • Managing the event (FOH)
  • Supporting audience feedback