‘Austin City Limits’ Takes Fans Behind Scenes with VR Docuseries

01.31.2018

How, exactly, does Ed Sheeran operate all those loop pedals to create a one-man show on stage?

He was one of many performers this year who stepped under the lights of Moody Theater for PBS' Austin City Limits.

"He produces everything live, and it's fascinating," said Tom Gimbel, the show's general manager.

And now, PBS and local station KLRU is giving viewers a window into exactly how it's done with ACL: Backstage, a 10-episode, 360-degree VR documentary that with the turn of a head, tilt of a phone or drag of a mouse, immerses fans with an up-close look of the season's most iconic performances.

"When you talk about live music on television, people may say it's not the same thing as being there," Gimbel said. "There's no replacement for the exhilaration that comes with being at a venue. But VR is the next best thing."

ACL: Backstage celebrates the fact that Austin City Limits, now in its 43rd season, has reached a milestone as the the longest running music series, surpassing the U.K.'s Top of the Pops.

The VR series is available on YouTube and with a Daydream View headset through the YouTube VR app. Each episode runs between six to 10 minutes and five have been released so far, focusing on performers Ed Sheeran, Zac Brown Band, Father John Misty, Run the Jewels, and the employees behind the scenes. The rest of the episodes will roll out throughout February and March.

The series is created by Austin City Limits and VR studio SubVRsive, in partnership with Google and sponsored by Apple Music.

"Google and YouTube have really made a commitment to VR," Gimbel said. "They were really kind of the driving force behind it, and they recognized live music as one of the genres that VR can really succeed in."

The Secret Sauce of VR Production

The idea stemmed from a meeting at Austin's South by Southwest festival in March 2017, where Austin City Limits, Google and SubVRsive met to figure out a way to create something cool.

"The concept here had a narrative story arc," said Gimbel.

"With 360 video content, don't treat it as a gimmick," added Ty Root, vice president of production at SubVRsive. "It's really a tool to tell the story."

To that end, they brought in director Nathan Christ to tease out the storyline.

"We really wanted to take these professional components of filmmaking and encapsulate them into telling a 360 narrative," said Gimbel.

ACL passed on previous VR opportunities because they were more static-focusing on placing VR cameras in the studio and having the technology do all the talking. In that scenario, viewers tend to enjoy looking around for a few minutes, but once they've grasped the experience, it tends to end.

"We've seen a lot of bad VR when it comes to live music, like putting up a single camera and doing a live stream," said Johannes Larcher, CEO of SubVRsive.

Here, ACL: Backstage goes beyond the concert, following musicians from the tour bus, to rehearsals, to tech setups, with interviews along the way where the artists offer personal insight into what goes into their performance. One moment you feel like you're on stage-the next, you're in the crowd, or hanging out with the production crew, or in the green room watching the musicians prepare.

Rather than watching it for a couple minutes and abandoning it, Gimbel said viewers go back and watch a second time to see the same episode from a new perspective. The artists have also embraced it.

"At first they might have been a little cautious, but the experience for them has been great." he said.

Merging VR with a Linear Show

Part of that comes down to the way SubVRsive integrated into Austin City Limits' existing linear production, bringing new cameras and a new crew without "intruding on something that has been relatively the same way for 42 seasons," Gimbel said.

Thanks to Google, SubVRsive had access to some of the best VR technology in the world, and spread seven cameras throughout the venue.

"What we wanted to do was place people in unique locations and let them experience something they wouldn't be able to otherwise," Root said.

Root's father worked as a tour manager for well-known bands such as Chicago, so he grew up experiencing performances from behind-the-scenes, giving him a unique perspective of what to pass on to viewers. They knew every camera couldn't capture something amazing all the time, but made sure to place them in locations where something interesting was likely to happen.

"For me, and what I love most about ACL: Backstage are the moments you get at rehearsal," Root said. "When you get to see this private, intimate moment, where there's maybe four people there, and to put viewers there, to make you feel like you're witnessing something that nobody is going to see."

Larcher also pointed to the symbiotic relationship between the city of Austin and the show, as well as the employees who ensure it happens every year.

"It's not just about the show, it's about the city and the men and women who have dedicated their entire careers to making the show," he said, and that comes to light in the episode "Unsung Heroes."

ACL: Backstage also explores the show's discovery of new talent. For example, an upcoming episode, "Homegrown" focuses on a backyard concert featuring local Austin bands to shine a light on what it's like to be a rising star.

A New Audience from YouTube

At the same time, ACL: Backstage indicates how after 43 seasons, PBS and KLRU are still seeking cutting edge ways to bring live music to viewers.

"VR is exciting, it's new, it gives people a different experience and demonstrates the show isn't just sitting on its laurels," Gimbel said. "We're not just sitting back and saying this is who we are. We're always trying to innovate and discover new ways to bring music to fans."

While the 360 experience supports Google's push of it's Daydream View VR headset, YouTube is also a valuable platform for the series.

"I think it's really important today to recognize fans want to watch what they want to watch, when they want to watch it, on what device they want to watch it on," Gimbel said. ACL: Backstage takes viewers beyond PBS, where it has the potential to attract new audiences to the network.

"There may be a younger fan who is not a regular PBS watcher, who sees ACL: Backstage [on Youtube] and makes their way to PBS to watch Austin City Limits and other programming. A big part of our mission is to go where the fans are."

A Powerful Medium

KLRU is currently promoting its VR series with the help of Google, along with internal marketing typical of Austin City Limits that includes tying the 360-degree component into press releases and episode advances of the linear series. Down the line they may create smaller VR cuts for social platforms to showcase some of the unique experiences, Gimbel said.

Austin City Limits also has booked "an amazing lineup" for season 44, which premieres in October, and plans are underway to continue to shoot in VR for a season two of ACL: Backstage.

"It's been so well received," Gimbel said.

SubVRsive also pushes the VR series out on its social platforms and encourages featured artists to share it across their own social handles. And the studio created the ACL: Backstage trailer, as well as marketing assets such as thumbnails and other artwork to pass on to distribution partners Google, YouTube and Apple Music.

"We all do our due diligence to tweak the hell out of it," Larcher said.

Taking a step back from the series, Larcher sees the medium of VR and 360-video as very much at the beginning: the first inning of immersive storytelling. It offers an unparalleled sense of engagement that will find its place across content creation, agency work and advertising.

"This is here to stay," Larcher said. "It's not a medium that's going to go away. When it works, it's a medium that's incredibly powerful. And ACL is an example of that."