Can you outline how BaDoink has been using VR to change/enhance adult entertainment?
We’re effecting the industry in a few ways. The excitement surrounding virtual reality, because it’s so new, so starkly different from conventional adult video, is causing a bit of a renaissance in production. The starlets are excited because it requires a different type of engagement with their scene partners, a different choreography. As well, it’s a way for them to connect more closely with their fans. The shooters are excited because there is so much experimentation involved: DIY rigs created with 3D printers; testing interaxial distances between lenses; an entirely new spin on blocking.
It’s also exciting because, for the first time in a while, adult entertainment is leading on the tech front. There are a lot of very exciting things happening in VR. Every industry is looking into it. There are startups galore. All of this is fantastic. But at this point, adult is the only industry in the space with a proven business model.
Adult is pushing the envelope, and driving innovation and uptake. We’ve endless opportunity to explore. At BaDoinkVR, we release a new scene every week. As a result, my content manager, who’s on the set at nearly all of our shoots, has more experience shooting VR than 99.99999% of the population. Since we’re a subscription-based ‘walled garden,’ we’re able to communicate directly with users; there’s an ongoing dialog, and subscribers are passionate and vocal. They tell us when a scene doesn’t work. They tell us when a scene does work. Heck, our production team has meetings that are instigated by comments on Reddit. That kind of interaction with the consumer is invaluable because the tech is so nascent, and that kind of interaction is enormously beneficial because the more consumer insight we have, the more rapidly we’re able to make believers of everyone.
What has the uptake been? Any growth stats on how many videos are being watched per week would be brilliant.
It’s been extraordinary. Since launch this past July, we’ve seen daily joins increase by more than 600%. Each video in BaDoinkVR is downloaded 1500 to 2600 times per-week. There are 50+ scenes. It’s also fun because our growth, that 600% increase, isn’t only the result of our marketing. There’s plenty of buzzy about VR, but a recent survey showed that a mere 1/3rd of the US population is aware of virtual reality devices. So every time a VR-related promotion is unveiled—whether it’s Samsung giving away free Gear VR headsets, or Coca-Cola changing its packaging so the cardboard can be folded into a VR headset—we see a jump in traffic. And it’s never a spike. It’s sustained traffic. And it’s sustained until the next big VR push. And that’s when it jumps again.
What are the current limitations with VR? Is it the technology, or is it doubt/social embarrassment on the part of the users?
It’s funny, when we first decided to move in this direction, that was about a year ago, the doubt/social embarrassment was a concern of mine. Your significant other walks in on you watching normal porn, it’s a conversation. Your significant other walks in on you watching porn with a smartphone strapped to your head…it’s a much longer conversation. But I don’t have those concerns anymore. The data bears it out. And definitely, the tech isn’t there yet, not even close. The best smartphone-driven HMDs are bulky; they overheat and the screen-door effect is omnipresent. The more advanced HMDs have problems, too. They’re also bulky, and expensive and require race-car PCs. The production equipment must improve. There just aren’t a lot of options. Among other things, we want cameras with gen-lock, with frame rates that are 60 to 90 fps, and they’ve got to be very, very small devices.
Do you foresee VR porn overtaking ‘traditional’ porn in the near future? What changes need to occur to see that transition?
No, not in the near future. Prices need to come down, the headsets need to improve and be a lot less obtrusive. They’ve got to wear like glasses, not ski goggles. It will happen, but it won’t happen tomorrow.
Where do you see virtual reality technology going in the next five to ten years? What will be the next ‘big thing’ for the format?
Displays will reach 8k x 6k resolution. At that point, the human eye is unable to see the pixels, so the virtual reality experience is more immersive. Eye Tracking is another one. Hugely important. If you can accurately track the eye’s movement, you can reduce the stress on the GPU. That allows VR devices to be smaller, lighter, more affordable. Haptic devices are already hitting the market, but we’ll see innovation in that area, too. At the end of the day, the goal is telepresence, a feeling of being totally immersed in a virtual world. In the real world, presence is keyed by more senses than just the visual and aural. Touch—not to mention smell, even taste—is an essential piece of the puzzle.
When, in your opinion, will it become normal to see people wearing VR headsets in public?
When they’re as pervasive, light and comfortable as a pair of sunglasses.
It would also be great to know of any other aspects of the technology you believe aren’t being discussed at present, or what you think the average man needs to know to be convinced about VR.
The beauty of this revolution in telecommunications is that it’s being crowd-sourced. Investors in Silicon Valley. Startups in the basement. And it’s touching so many industries. Health and medicine. Travel & Tourism. The fourth estate. Set a Google Alert for Virtual Reality and you learn something new every day. So it’s hard for me to think of an aspect that isn’t being discussed in some form or another.
The average person needs to know that virtual reality must be experienced to be believed. That’s the hard part. No amount of talking about it, describing it, really does it justice. It’s like trying to explain how delicious pizza is to someone who’s not only never tasted mozzarella, but never tasted it sprawled across a layer of tangy tomato sauce baked into a bed of wood-fired dough. You’ve got to take a bite. You’ve got to put the goggles on.