Enhancing communication and dramatic impact of online live performance with cooperative audience control

Recent progress in information technology enables people to easily broadcast events live on the Internet. Although the advantage of the Internet is live communication between a performer and listeners, the current mode of communication is writing comments using Twitter or Facebook, or some similar messaging network. In one type of live broadcast, musical performances, it is difficult for a musician, when playing an instrument, to communicate with listeners by writing comments. We propose a new communication mode between performers who play musical instruments, and their listeners by enabling listeners to control the performer's camera or illumination remotely. The results of four weeks of experiment confirm the emergence of nonverbal communication between a performer and listeners, and among listeners, which increases camaraderie amongst listeners and performers. Additionally, the dramatic impact of a performance is increased by enabling listeners to control various camera actions such as zoom-in or pan in real time. The results also provide implications for design of future interactive live broadcasting services.