A pair of brothers have come up with a software which displays to buyers of show tickets what the view is like from any given seat in the house. This means music or sports fans will be able to see computer-rendered images of the view from any seat before paying for their tickets.
Mauritians Oliver and Wesley Oxenham, the first to use 3-D modelling technology this way, have already created a database of more than 100 concert arenas and stadiums around the world, including London’s O2 Arena and Boston’s Fenley Park.
The work of these recent graduates of the National University of Singapore (NUS) has been noticed: They have clinched a deal with Europe’s fastest-growing ticketer, Seatwave. Mr Oliver Oxenham, 28, said of the advantage Seatwave would offer its customers with the software: “You don’t want to buy a ticket and then find out when you get there that there’s a pillar blocking your view.” The brothers, who came to Singapore for their undergraduate studies, have named their program Fanvenues. The brothers, who came to Singapore for their undergraduate studies, have named their program Fanvenues.
It came about through a project by Mr Wesley Oxenham, 26, who created – for fun – a 3-D model of NUS’ central library using Google Earth’s open source software. The library has since become the first one in the world that can be viewed online in 3-D. NUS now uses the younger Mr Oxenham’s models to give its freshmen an online orientation tour of the library, and to give an online view of the very shelf where a sought-after book can be found. NUS has also since had three of its other libraries rendered in 3-D.
When the brothers cottoned on to using 3-D modelling to map the world’s major concert venues, they did so without having to physically visit each one of them. Said Mr Wesley Oxenham: “It’s not sustainable to go to each venue to take pictures, because you’ll have to take a picture from every single seat.” Others have gone down that tedious route, but the brothers found they were able to generate the 3-D views more effortlessly, using the same Google Earth open source software. It helped greatly that the younger Mr Oxenham is trained in architecture, and the elder in computer engineering.
The pair have since set up a company, Peekspy, to market Fanvenues and other 3-D modelling products. They have also mapped and modeled a 3-D view of Singapore Indoor Stadium, and are working on the performance venues in The Esplanade. But they have stirred far less excitement here. Sistic, the biggest online ticketer in Singapore, is revamping its website and has held off considering Fanvenues. Peekspy’s chief executive officer Paymon Rasekhy reckons the overseas buzz is stronger because of more intense rivalry among ticket-sellers. “Over there, it is a comparative advantage for a seller to have a product like ours, but it may not matter much here,” he said.
He disclosed that Peekspy takes a cut of under 1 per cent of ticket sales for each event.
Meanwhile, the Oxenhams are expecting this year to be busy: They are aiming to add 500 more concert venues to their database by year’s end, making it the world’s biggest. They also plan to expand the current team at Peekspy, now comprised of the two brothers and Mr Rasekhy.
By Jennani Durai of The Straits Times