There is something to be said about a full immersive cinema experience. I’m a purist about cinema and trying to simulate what is happening on screen for the audience seated in the theater feels like a novelty more suited to a theme park than the world of film and movies. The power of books and movies and music is that the connection is made by the imagination that links our lives with what we experience on the page or the screen or what we hear in our ears. The history of film has shown us that just what we see and hear, projected on to that screen, can take us to different times and worlds and situations and allow us to truly experience a lifetime. Wind machines, scented spritzers, and a moving chair does not bring me closer into the world of the film, it takes me away from it and that’s one of the many barriers that got in the way for me to enjoy ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus in Cinemas.’
The film is less than an hour long and it’s a showcase of the K-pop idol group TXT as they sing six songs from their discography in a wide range of virtual sets and caps off with a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot with the virtual reality studio. It’s not a concert video. It feels more like a showcase that’s akin to an extended Studio Choom dance video (if you’re a K-pop fan, you know what Studio Choom; if not, take a look at it on YouTube). As a K-pop fan myself, I can see that this release is intended specifically for TXT’s fandom, called MOAs. It’s a nice way for someone who is not familiar with them, like myself, to get to know them and their music – I for one took note of the second and the fourth song that they sang, ‘Magic Island’ and ‘Tinnitus (I Want to Be a Rock)’ and added them to my own playlist – see them dance and get to know their faces (as the camera comes in really close to the absolute delight of the fans in the audience with me). But there were many barriers of the release that got in the way.
First off, ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus’ is a virtual augmented release. I think you are supposed to watch this with special VR goggles that can help you see the added effects to the scene. There are no goggles for this VR enhancement so what we see is a green screen CGI background behind the boys that looks fake and flat. Without the VR goggles, the intended effect doesn’t jump out.
Next, there are no subtitles and there are two spiels that happen between every two songs and then the finale. If you’re familiar with K-pop concerts, you know when to cheer and when to scream and the boys even react accordingly as if the audience does (in the cinema I was in, only one fourth of the audience knew when to make noise and did so obediently). Surprisingly, the five boys – Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai – don’t have enough space for their personalities to really shine. They are relating to a camera and without the audience and the energy from a live crowd coming their way, they can only do so much to let their presence be felt. The fans in the cinema were enjoying it but as a newbie, I still didn’t get to see who they were.
And then the 4DX experience made it even harder to enjoy as the seats shook and jolted along with the choreography while the bass manifested as a pulsing vibration right at your back. This would actually take me out of the moment rather than immerse me into that world because my energy was being dictated for me. I’ve been to K-pop concerts and the joy and rush of energy from seeing my idols would force me from my seat and to stand up and cheer and dance along the beat. Here, I do not have that option. I’ll fall off, for sure.
Not exactly a concert film but not exactly a documentary that allows for new audiences to find their way into the fandom, ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus’ is a peculiar release, especially without the subtitles and the virtual reality augmentation that would probably only serve to interest the true-blue MOAs of the country.
My Rating:
Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.
