filmpanion project

Start from the need of people

As technology grows, people are more distance with each other but they still want to be connected. And one of the most effective ways to be connected with someone is none other than watch a movie or series together. Nowadays, there are 2 methods to do those things: watch a film at home on a streaming service or go to the theater.

A growing trend or the future of filming

A study from Statista says that watching at home is drawn more views than movie theater

November 2018

Strongly prefer movie theater

Strongly prefer streaming

June 2020

Strongly prefer movie theater

Strongly prefer streaming

Arcording to the statics, Streaming in general has gotten more and more popular and start a movie night with your friend’s house is surely a joyful moments.

Social distance is a big deal

But with COVID-19 crisis, people realize the importance of a virtual platform that allow you to watch film with someone that lives far away or can not be visited. I graps the opportunity and want to explore how to make this “virtual watch party” journey as enjoyable as possible.

People laugh more when they’re watching comedy with others. They’re less scared when watching horror. So emotion is contaginus.

Top popular streaming services worldwide is Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max.

Almost people have already known what movie to watch before starting a movie night and start the movie right away. So our scope, right now, will be focus in the middle and after watching.

I started a survey and got 47 people responded. Here are some data I learned:

1. 48% like watching with friends while 40% prefer watch with friends. That means these are our target customer: the couple and the group of friends.
2. Top reasons why they prefer watching with others than alone are:

See other reaction

Express feeling

Discuss with each other

That means mutual interaction plays an important part in their watching experience, and know more and bonding with each other are their ultimate goals.

Based on the interview I conducted with 4 users about their virtual watch party experience that differs than real life , I found these painpoints:

People want to interact with others but also afraid they will distract them

1. Most users afraid to talk because it may interpruted other’s watching. And their side is too loud. So they end up muting their microphone

2. Because of the muted microphone, when users want to share something, they text. But many people show concern that typing is so annoying that they can’t catch up with the film

3. Half of interviewees share that they feel embrassing when pausing/want to pause the screen of everybody

People desired to talk about their opinion

When asked about what make you feel connect with each other, 2/4 users expressed that they feel that when they discuss with others about their pov about the movie: the plot, the character, the setting,...

Match with the real life

When asked, users say they still prefer face-to-face watch party that they can feel That means when using a virtual movie session, they expect the experience is just like when they meet in-person. They prefer face-to-face communication, cozy atmosphere and in-depth interaction.

Through research, I identified the pain points that prevent user to enjoy than they in preson. and tried to find to resolve them:

Hard to interact
Don’t feel convenient to pause

Based on the information come from research above, I iterated and decided that my solutions will focus on 2 main insights:

1. Users want to quickly interact with each other without causing distraction

2. Users want an environment where they can talk about their feeling about the film

Key 1: Gif reaction

A feature that allows user to express their feeling like happy, sad, surprised, angry throughout movie session using shortcut.

Explained:

Through research, I realized that users expect to see others reaction in a group watch party. And they want it real time and as fast as possible. So i design keyboard shortcut to help users show their feeling at that time, in a fun way.

Key 2: Pause alert

A feature that request the host to pause for a short break ( like go to the bathroom or grab some snacks)

Explained:

Through survey, I found that users usually mute their mic because they afraid of causing distraction.

Therefore, unlike in real life, they feel embarassed because they don’t have a convenient way to request a short break in group watch. A feature that notifies the host about their request may help.

Key 3: Speech-to-Text

A feature that let users use their voice to create chat faster

Explained:

During a group watch, I notice that users usually mute their mic so they prefer chatting. But keyboard chatting is too time-cosuming. Speech-to-Text can assist user to quickly deliver their thinking to others

Key 1: Group vote

A feature that starts a group vote. With that, user can convey their jugment and know others’s opinion about the film they have just watched.

Explained:

Through desk research, i gained that people want their opinions to be heard and given thoughts, as well as hear others’s viewpoint.

With vote party, people will get a chance to know other feeling about the movie, what they like and what they hate.

Key 2: Recap moments

A feature that recap memories base on reaction

Explained:

Just like you love looking at old photos, people like to keep their memories, moments they’ve been through with their loved ones.

My platform will provide recaps based on member’s gif reaction at that times, like the time they laugh most, the moments they’re too scared that unable to speak, or when they’re so angry at a character.

System

Real world

The layout of the platform is based on your everyday movie night in real life.

With viewers in front of the screen and the remote is just in your right hand. The arrangement reminds of the time users watch movie with their friends or family.

Pros and cons

Feature 1: Quick interaction

Pros

A quick way to increasing social interaction

Have a potential user’s impact on user movie experience

Gather valuable data about user watching behavior

Cons

High intensity of gif can distract user from watching the film

Speech-to-text using will mute the sound, so it may affect user experience with the film

What if the Speech-to-text recognize user’s voice incorrectly and transfer the wrong idea

Feature 2: Bonding with each other

Pros

Create more interactive ways for user beyond just watching movie

Taking role as a bonding method for member also increases the bond of user with the platform and creates loyalty

Be a great place for user to have deep memories

Cons

What if users don’t interact enough to create a moments

What if the algorithm capture the wrong and inaproriate moment

Feature 3: Create an intimate atmosphere

Pros

Create experience similar to real life will make the platform easy to use for users

Cons

What if the number of member is too large?

Things I’ll do in the future

1more research, usuability testing and talk more with developer about technical feasibility
2. Enhance user experience in the “before watching” phrase
3. Explore more ways to raise interaction between users

Main takeaways

Takeaway 1:

Take priorities

Narrowing the scope is a great start to focus on the parts that have most impact on user experience. That will keep us from wasting time and effort.

Takeaway 2:

Learn from the expert

No one do thing great alone. The most valuable part is when I get feedback from incredible mentors and find out when I go wrong and what my work is lacking.