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We’ve seen the development of a pair of headphones that play songs based on users’ brainwaves, and now the BBC is testing a system that shapes films to suit the viewer’s unique preferences.

Visual Perceptive Media is a short film produced with many separate elements, all of which will flow contiguously. First, an app will scan users’ musical listening histories, and ask them a series of questions to do with their personality, age and gender. This data is then used to shape aspects of the film, including the narrative, characters, and music, and the film will change to please the viewer’s own unique interests. For example, the software will determine which character the viewer will feel stronger towards, and bias the number of scenes that character appears in. This brings an entertainment experience that ultimately maximizes viewer empathy.

The project, currently under public testing, draws data from its companion app. In the future, it could use data from a number of services, include factors such as the time of day, location, viewer’s moods, and shape the entertainment in real-time. Could this model of adapting content to suit distinctive demographics be used for online video ads too?