‘Hyperfocus’ brings Tomorrow X Together closer to fans

Tomorrow X Together —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

It’s not every day that you yelp in pain as soon as you sit in a cinema. But that’s what happens when you act first before thinking. It was my first time watching in a 4DX theater at Greenbelt Cinema last Thursday. I thought the seats were a little bit too high and different because they had a metal edge. I didn’t bother inspecting my seat and just jumped straight into it.

It was a stupid move. The metal hit my backside, causing me to cry out in pain and jump out of my seat again. I realized that the seat was so advanced that I didn’t know the metal edge was actually a footstool folded into the chair.

My battle against the future was resolved when I set the stool down, allowing me to use it as a step to settle comfortably into my seat this time.

4DX is a cinema experience that includes motion seats, wind, and strobe lights. Tomorrow X Together (TXT) made use of all that in its virtual concert “Hyperfocus,” which is currently being shown exclusively at Greenbelt, UP Town Center, and Bonifacio Global City until Jan. 21. Every ticket comes with a photo card exclusive for the show.

“Hyperfocus” is not a recording of TXT’s existing world tours, where you watch the band perform onstage, but with a camera. It’s not a Beyond Live recording, nor is it a concert documentary. It’s a whole new experience specifically designed for the 4DX cinema format.

Six songs

The almost 60-minute show treats the audience to six songs of the group. It starts with Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai lying in the middle of a garden, their eyes closed. It feels like stumbling upon them by accident. Soon, they wake up and start singing “Sugar Rush Ride.” They quickly follow it up with “Magic Island,” with flowers and butterflies everywhere. The screen transports you to an island where only beautiful things exist.

Fans still get to enjoy a show while the group enjoys a break from live activities.

For the second set, they change their casual costumes into white fits with black lace accents, then perform “Good Boy Gone Bad” and “Tinnitus.” Fans expecting Taehyun to show some skin in the fourth song will be delighted. He raises his shirt for a quick peek at his toned abs; the audience I was part of went insane. Finally, they perform “MOA Diary,” changing into white T-shirts that look like merch items, as if they are in a regular concert.

There are short ments (talking segments) like you’ve come to expect from a regular concert. They will ask questions and take a pause, imagining how the audience will respond.

Unfortunately, during the press screening, there were no subtitles, so I didn’t understand the entire conversation. I was told this will be addressed by Ayala Cinemas in other showings. I only caught Huening Kai saying how he liked the butterflies. The boys also explained the camera work of the show and asked fans for feedback. TXT also encouraged MOAs (the fandom) to do fan chants as well.

Unlike in a broadcast concert where the camera framing is equally divided into showing the choreography and formations of the dance numbers, this show mostly focuses on close-ups of their faces. The members come up to the camera, get really close, and step back before another member steps in. You can see every line and feature on their faces.

No 3D glasses

It is unfortunate that the Philippine version does not provide 3D glasses, because seeing their faces in 3D will add that element of them being right there in front of you.

The seats also move in some parts, like when there is a falling star on the screen and it feels like you are dropping with it. Sometimes a lightning effect will come out on our side a few seconds after one onscreen, as if the explosion of light is traveling toward you. Cool bursts of air also hit your face, evoking a sensation similar to being in a live concert where you stand near the speakers or are close to the pyrotechnics.

They’re all a fun addition to the experience. But for the most part, the moving seats and lights feel unnecessary, since sometimes they feel out of sync.

But you have to laud the direction TXT is taking. Fans get to enjoy this show while the group is enjoying a break from activities. While they are resting, their fans will not feel their absence for too long.

It’s uncharted territory that could become a trend. Imagine waking up in the morning knowing that your favorites are virtually in town and that you can walk into a cinema and be with them for a few minutes before you go about your day. It’s an experiment, a preview of what future concerts may look like. It’s not a replacement of the live ones, but a supplement to the fan experience.

The concert also gets stretched through behind-the-scenes snippets of the show, which briefly show the green screen shooting process. The boys also directly talk to the camera, allowing the audience to feel they are addressing MOAs directly. And this is really the audience of the show: fans who love them and just want to see them happily performing their songs.