(C) HYBE JAPAN (P)&(C) SOURCE MUSIC
LE SSERAFIM, a five-member group belonging to the major South Korean entertainment agency HYBE, will be holding their first VR concert tour, “LE SSERAFIM VR CONCERT: INVITATION“.
The film premiered simultaneously in Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Taiwan on Wednesday, April 15th, and is currently showing in theaters in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan.
This concert marks the first time a female artist from HYBE MUSIC GROUP has performed in such a format, and it is attracting attention from both fans and the general public.
Scenes from the LE SSERAFIM VR concert preview screening.
The LE SSERAFIM VR concert preview screening was held at 109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku, the Tokyo venue.
(Scene in front of the venue entrance) (C) HYBE JAPAN (P)&(C) SOURCE MUSIC
The setup consisted of a VR headset and cables set up in a regular movie theater seat.
(View of the seating area. The red cable is for connecting VR goggles.)
(Your VR goggles are placed on the shelf next to your seat.)
At the scheduled time, a video explaining the detailed procedure for putting on the VR goggles was shown on the screen at the front, and we were instructed to put them on ourselves according to the video. Staff members were available to assist those who had difficulty doing so.
In the main part of the video, there’s a scene where you first select your favorite member using hand tracking. Then, as the elevator doors open, the LE SSERAFIM members get in with you!
The LE SSERAFIM fan club members in the front of the audience erupt in cheers.
One of the best things about this live performance was being able to directly hear the audience’s reaction.
Although the live footage was pre-recorded, the audience’s cheers, calls during the songs, and reactions to the members’ questions during the MC segments gave me the feeling of being at a live concert in real time.
(C) HYBE JAPAN (P)&(C) SOURCE MUSIC
And indeed, the opening scene of this VR live performance, where you “ride an elevator with the members,” is brilliant.
Not only was there a sense of closeness, but just as I was watching them, they were constantly aware of my presence and watching me. This feeling is only possible because it’s a VR live performance… and the staging perfectly expressed the concept of this live show.
The first song is “SPAGHETTI,” which has been viewed 110 million times on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/TvVtYaqCni8?si=1_Fp9AwiE9MO5pBW
The members sing and dance on a stage created with 3DCG.
(C) HYBE JAPAN (P)&(C) SOURCE MUSIC
No matter where I looked, everyone was looking at me. I wondered if this is what it feels like to be a cameraman on a music show who usually films artists and idols… or rather, what it feels like to be a “camera lens”? They were staring at me so intently that there were many moments when they were so close that I almost recoiled.
(Recording scene) (C) HYBE JAPAN (P)&(C) SOURCE MUSIC
In a real music concert, even if the performers only look at you for 0.1 seconds, it would be an unforgettable memory. However, in this VR concert, the members are looking at you almost the entire time. It was the first time I’d ever watched a concert with such a sense of tension, constantly feeling like I was being watched.
I was wondering what the initial “choosing your favorite member” meant in the context of “watching a live performance”… but during the instrumental breaks and outro solo parts of several songs, the members appear in front of you and perform solos, and it seems that the member you choose at the beginning becomes the member you initially selected. It’s interesting how everyone rejoices and cheers in the same way, even though the member who appears is different for each audience member, creating a wonderful sense of unity.
A total of 10 songs were performed, with MC segments interspersed throughout, creating a typical live concert format.
During the MC segment, the members surrounded me, and although the talk was in Korean, Japanese subtitles were displayed alongside it. This MC segment was also different from a typical music concert; it felt like the members were sitting in a circle and talking to me alone, creating a very intimate and memorable experience.
Regarding hand tracking, during the live performance, you could wave glow sticks, and in some parts, the glow sticks you were holding would light up like flashlights, illuminating only the members where you pointed the light, so you could try your best to find your favorite member! …There were playful parts like that.
The concert lasted about an hour and was quite fulfilling and satisfying.
Overwhelmingly high level of perfection as commercial content.
The attempt to “convert live content into VR” has been seen sporadically over a long period of time. What makes this VR concert particularly noteworthy is its overwhelmingly high level of completeness as commercial content, encompassing not only the content itself but also the balance between customer satisfaction and ticket price.
VR content itself is still a relatively new genre, and many of the projects linked to real venues and events in Japan are still in the prototype stage. However, this live performance gave the impression of being extremely well-thought-out in terms of concept design, recording methods, VR content creation, and the stability of synchronization and reproducibility. There was almost nothing that felt “incomplete.”
This is largely due to the efforts of AMAZE, who put their heart and soul into producing this live event. They have completely succeeded in creating a “VR concert” production package. At this level, I think many real-world talent agencies and VTuber agencies in Japan would want to use the same format to hold a VR concert with their own talent. It was that high-quality.
I will now list some of the specific positive aspects of this live performance.
– The experience is focused precisely on the premise that “the participant themselves cannot move freely.”
While VR itself inherently offers a high degree of freedom in what can be done, this VR content is designed so that the audience cannot move freely within the VR space. The audience will always view from a position intended by the creators. I felt that this constraint, starting from the beginning, is what contributes to the quality of this VR concert experience.
The fact that the viewing position is fixed allows for production design that “looks best from that position,” provides the experience of “being continuously watched by the members,” and undoubtedly contributes to “not having to create content for areas that are not visible from that point, thus reducing content size and work time” by limiting the viewing position to a single point.
Furthermore, VR, which often restricts free movement, tends to give viewers the feeling that they are simply being shown a 360-degree video. However, they brilliantly overcame this issue.
– Initial member selection is done using hand tracking.
– You can wave glow sticks using hand tracking.
Throughout the experience, one could sense the effort and success in creating an experience format that sets itself apart from simply “watching 360-degree video with a VR headset.” This was evident in features such as the use of hand tracking to allow the audience a slight degree of interaction within the VR space, the creation of a 3DCG studio rather than just real footage, and the way the songs were connected to create an exciting and attraction-like experience unique to VR.
– It combines the best aspects of both virtual and real life.
The strength of the members being real people, not avatars, lies in their overwhelming expressive power. The sheer power of their dance when seen up close, and the strength of their gazes and expressions—which convey the message, “I’m looking at you right now”—that only artists skilled in live performance can deliver, made me fully appreciate the overwhelming priority of being able to experience this up close.
The members appeared to be filmed against a green screen, but when viewed in VR, there was a clear sense of depth, and even at close range, their skin looked beautiful thanks to the correction applied. The light was always perfectly reflected in their eyes, and I felt that their sense of balance in “using the magic of virtual reality skillfully without being dishonest” was superb. I felt that their production policy was based on a deep understanding that “it’s not always best to make everything exactly the same as a live performance.”
The way they skillfully combined the best aspects of real people with the magic of fiction that only virtual content can offer was truly impressive.
On the other hand, some points that bothered me were that the lighting for the performers and the lighting for the 3DCG stage were not consistent in some songs, and that the main part of the live performance was only about an hour long, so I felt somewhat tired. However, these issues may be largely resolved through the efforts of the developers, as well as as future improvements in VR equipment and PC specifications.
On the other hand, although the experience was relatively long, I was impressed by the fact that great care had been taken to minimize VR sickness through things like viewpoint movement.
Experiencing it firsthand provided clear answers to all the questions: “Why VR?”, “Why watch it in a movie theater?”, and “Why can’t we move around freely?”.
Furthermore, with the recent rise of free-roam VR, the fact that this “VR experience where self-movement is completely impossible” has been unveiled with such a high level of perfection makes me appreciate the fascinating potential of VR culture all over again.
I will continue to pay close attention to HYBE and AMAZE’s efforts in the VR business, as well as the impact these efforts will have on virtual culture in Japan.
[Overview of “LE SSERAFIM VR CONCERT: INVITATION”]
■Official website: https://campaigns.weverse.io/WV1294Q9PU
■Screening Schedule and Theater Information
April 15th (Wed) – May 14th (Thu) Tokyo @109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku
April 15th (Wed) – May 7th (Thu) Osaka @ T-Joy Umeda
*Please check the screening schedule on each theater’s website.
*Please check the official website for details.
■Ticket Price
Tokyo | 109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku: 5,000 yen (tax included) *AfterWork invitation ticket: 4,500 yen (tax included)
Osaka | T-Joy Umeda: 4,400 yen (tax included) *AfterWork invitation ticket: 3,850 yen (tax included)
*109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku offers premium seats throughout, high-spec projection equipment, and high-quality sound in all theaters.
Supervised by Honma Ryuichi, this VR concert offers a special environment where you can immerse yourself in the world of VR.
■ Sales period
March 18th (Wed) 18:00 – until the end of each theater’s screening
* “FEARNOT tickets” will be available from 6:00 PM on Wednesday, March 18th until the end of each theater’s screening on Sunday, April 19th (sales will end once the planned number of tickets are sold out).
■Contact Information
For inquiries regarding tickets, screenings, and venues, please check the official website of the theater showing the film.
■Organizer: HYBE JAPAN
■Supervisor: SOURCE MUSIC
■Production: AMAZE
This article is an English translation of an original Japanese article, translated by the Mogura VR editorial team.