The Virtual Globe 3.0
Like the Elizabethan impresario Philip Henslowe (performed by Geoffrey Rush in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love) was wont to say: “It will all work out in the end… It’s a mystery”, bringing the Virtual Globe 3.0 project to the ETEC 522 was a thrilling, somewhat dramatic, event – so much fun, I had to upload the project twice! As usual, everything that could go wrong at the last minute will, but in true trouper fashion, “the show must go on!”
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Here is the updated version of the teaser trailer for my eight-minute venture pitch (which is more like a trailer for a project that could take at least half an hour to unfold) for the Virtual Globe 3.0, coming soon to a school computer near you.
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Please tell me what you think about the project and perhaps who might be interested in financing the project. As Ben Crystal, whose YouTube clip make the occasional appearance in my project, would have said had he continued with the Henry V opening chorus:
Admit me Chorus to this history;
Who prologue-like your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
…or in this case, please wish me to break a leg with this venture!
Posted in: Week 13: Venture Forum
jenaca 1:54 am on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kyle,
Wow! You really caught my attention and had me engaged during the entire pitch! I think it’s great that you included a catchy start and included so many different videos. However I am confused about your pitch and am not exactly sure what your product is? I was also a little thrown off from the music and because some of the words were very small I had a hard time understanding what you were pitching.
Jenaca
kstooshnov 1:19 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great feedback, Jenaca,
Happy to hear that I caught your attention, and now I’ve got to make clear what it is I am pitching. Good news with this class blog is that I can upload an updated version of the elevator pitch, with less text, more messages that get to point of selling the virtual place I want to design, and also turn down the background music a few notches – this last feature came as a surprise to me, as it is built in with the “Make a Trailer” feature of iMovie ’11, but I am sure that the volume can be adjusted.
Thanks for you input,
Kyle
jarvise 10:19 am on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The elevator pitch doesn’t really give an idea about the market or money to be made by the product. It gives an idea of what the product is and who is making it, but I’m not sure whether there is any money to be made here (or if there is a demand).
Emily
kstooshnov 1:48 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good point, Emily,
I seem to be marketing myself more than the program I want to design, and have not aimed at any specific investors: just the video game/web & app designers who are looking to expand their resources to include educational content. While I am still a bit in the dark as to where the money will come from, the Associate Dean of Arts & Social Sciences at a local university assures me that there is education money out there, The main reason I am taking this course is to find out for myself from where the money will come.
As for selling “Shakespeare”, perhaps one of the most recognizable names in literature, there have been roughly four centuries of interest, and definite peaks and troughs within the field of education. My main point of the pitch, which I will continue to tinker with until I can make my message more clear, is that with the right digital tools and ingenuity for the way students engage with Shakespeare, the demand will come from the younger audiences to experience the plays as performance, rather than works of confusing text. Please continue to comment as my pitch evolves, and hopefully addresses yours and others’ concerns.
Thank you,
Kyle
Deb Giesbrecht 5:12 pm on November 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Interesting elevator pitch Kyle – loved the dramatic pictures and music – very creative! I did have to go into the Venture Pitch to see what you were selling. Virtual players is an interesting concept and one that may assist in classroom education. You developed some really great graphics with accompanied music. Once I saw a virtual exhibit which included some famous chairs – you could sit down in Marie Antoinette’s chair and look out the window and see exactly what she would have seen back then. Your venture concept made me think of that.
kstooshnov 1:27 pm on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Deb,
It is really exciting to see where virtual and augmented can take learners, including Marie Antoinette’s chair or amongst the groundlings at the Globe Theatre. I’m really surprised that no one has yet marketed a virtual Globe outside of Second Life. One German company, Welt der Wunder, seems to be moving in the right direction with their augmented theatre, seen in this YouTube clip but I am more interested in promoting the plays, rather than just the building itself.
Thank you for the feedback,
Kyle
Angela Novoa 5:45 am on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kyle,
I enjoyed your elevator and venture pitch. Certainly your venture has a market gap and the product is innovative. The dramatic tone of both pitches makes the product more attractive. I missed more detailed information about the competency of the venture’s leaders, their competitors, the amount of money required for investing in this project, the way in which the venture will receive incomes, and the time-lapse expected to receive them.
Cheers,
Angela.
kstooshnov 1:37 pm on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Angela,
One of the reasons that detailed information (about leaders, competitors and returns on investment) is missing from the pitches is, quite frankly, they were not there. Globe 3.0 is truly a start-up business, and while someone with more financial savvy could make predictions about where this venture will go, I am testing the waters with these pitches, and pleased to see a few positive reaction. While most reslies seem to like the style of presentation, I also understand that both are lacking the convincing content to sell my idea. I appreciate everyone for posting thoughtful comments, and I am currently working on updates for the pitches, which I will post presently.
Thanks for sharing,
Kyle
mcquaid 11:31 am on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi, Kyle.
The production values of your pitch were great. It was entertaining, so I was hooked. I was shocked to notice at the end that it (unfortunately) was 30% longer than the maximum length allowed, though. Too bad… I liked the music, images, fonts, clips… they fit nicely together. Perhaps if you took out of some of the textless clips (that sometimes seemed unrelated), you could have been closer to sixty seconds.
I was curious as to why – for an online Shakespearean venture – you chose the styles of things you did. The B-movie / alien / cold war vibe, I think, detracts from viewers understanding what you’re pitching. Some of your voiceless scenes didn’t, I think, suit the real essence of what you were trying to say. They came across more suited to the style of clip you created.
In the end, I was emotionally won over. I was entertained. Unfortunately, I felt a little confused / misled, though, and didn’t have enough to make an informed decision on what I might or might not invest in.
Cheers,
Stephen
kstooshnov 1:48 pm on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Woo hoo, emotionally won over, you say?
Thank you for the feedback, and I was really happy when I found out that iMovie ’11 had trailer templates, and while it would have been tempting to pitch the project as a romantic comedy or James Bond movie, I like that “film noir” had thrilling music as well as enough text to get the message across. Thanks to yours and other comments, I have retooled the teaser trailer – but am still not able to get it down to a minute – and provided a clearer message for potential investors. Hope that the link to this blog entry makes it clear that they can find out more facts after being entertained and won over as well.
All the best,
Kyle
Deb Kim 1:40 pm on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kyle,
You caught my attention as well. You did a great job on both the elevator and venture pitch. I especially loved your “teaser trailor” version of the elevator pitch.
One thing I wasn’t quite sure is what your venture is exactly about. However, I was able to figure it out after watching your venture pitch twice and reading the coursemates’ comments. It’s a very interesting venture to me even though Shakespear is not the topic in my area of teaching. You did a good job on adding graphics, images, news clips, and videos to the venture pitch.
How is your product unique? How is it different from your competitors?
Deb
kstooshnov 2:15 pm on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Deb, glad you asked!
Most of the Internet presentation of Shakespeare’s plays have either been through YouTube or SecondLife, and generally not the same as watching the play performed live. The clip that I included of Ben Crystal reciting the opening chorus of Henry V (both in Received Pronunciation and the Original Pronunciation) gives the Virtual Globe 3.0 the advantage of getting the words right. The whole project should seem like a Panoramic Ball Cam had been sent back in time to capture the performances (as well as the audience reactions) at the old Globe Theatre of Shakespeare’s London during one of his plays. Difficult? yes. Expensive? very! Possible? let’s see if any investors are interested.
I appreciate your thoughts on this project,
Kyle
hall 4:27 pm on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Kstooshnov,
Your pitch was quite appealing and exciting. It captured my attention from the beginning to the end. The sound track and sequencing of ideas were good. Virtual player is good venture that could attract many users. I think it will bring flexibilities and interest to the teaching and learning of literature or English. However, I think your pitch lacked some key elements such as market target group, investment returns and competitors.
andrea 7:54 pm on November 30, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Kyle,
These were interesting pieces to watch, in part because you’ve woven together so many visual resources. Your elevator pitch piqued my curiosity, but left me a bit confused about your venture. I agree with Stephen’s comments on some of the scenes; I thought a shorter version would have served just as well.
Your venture pitch was a small theatrical work (or should I call it ‘play’?). If I were investing in a venture like this, I would want to know that you had the dramatic chops to pull it off – and also preview your presentation and theatrical style – and you’ve given us a window into that. The clips from CNN succinctly illustrated the continuing relevance of Shakespeare, and the clip of Mary Hartman of Bard on the Beach really drove home the idea that Shakespeare should be fun, and that youth are generating new language just as Shakespeare and his contemporaries were. Ms. Hartman was very engaging and convincing, obviously brings a wealth of experience to the venture, and she inspired a lot of confidence in this would-be investor.
It wasn’t until about 6 minutes in that I understood what your venture is, and providing that context earlier would have helped me to more fully appreciate some of the ‘support’ you presented for your viewpoint. I appreciate the artful presentation of your pitch, and you have convinced me of your passion for Shakespeare, but I wasn’t sure how you were actually going to pass that along or foster that with students. Are the students the virtual players, or are they the audience? What technologies and media would be involved – for example, is it mostly audio, or video, or text-based?
This is a really interesting and engaging concept, and I’d be interested to see this it in action.
Andrea
khenry 6:16 am on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Kyle,
As others have already mentioned, your pitch was very engaging. The music was very dramatic and reflected your dramatic content; I like this concept of using the theme of your product within your pitch, even though I am not sure if from a business perspective it would impress ‘the suits’ :-).
However, I also agree that I did not get an idea of your problem and solution (exact product) or what I as an investor would be investing in or if I want to invest for that matter. Perhaps using some text with blitz of such information would be useful and/or a shot clip of you highlighting the key elements, in keeping with your dramatic theme of course.
I got more of an idea of your product from your venture pitch and was very interested, particularly with the visuals at the end looking at the potential of global online creation and immersion with persons across the globe. Therefore, it is essential that you define your target group because you could have so many. It could even go commercial and a potentially great social network activity. Also, I did not really get an idea of how the product will actually work: how users would access your product, your market, market share, key players and experience, competence to deliver and sustain/innovate your product and how I as an investor could make money.
I hope you do continue on this. Would love to see the final version and your launch 😉
Kerry-Ann
murray12 8:44 am on December 1, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Kyle,
I must say that I saw a great deal of potential in the visual and theatrical elements of of your pitch. I enjoyed the initial narrative you began with the site of the original Globe theatre on Gmaps and then traveling to Vancouver. From this point on I felt you could’ve built on Shakespeare’s worldly appeal and today’s technology to state the benefit from your product. But, I’m afraid, like others, I was unsure what the product was and how I could be involved.
I like your above comment about the web providing an organic environment for changing posts and content and I would very much like to see a later version that truly details what your product is about.
Andrew