Agency Rebrand & Website Design

Live Digital Outdoor AR

To help promote the latest blockbuster in the Star Wars franchise, we were tasked with connecting with shoppers in London’s Westfield Shopping Centre. With over 360 shops to occupy their attentions, we knew the most powerful way to engage our audience was to actively involve them. 

So using an ‘interactive mirror’ concept, we gave people the chance to become a Jedi – live on a giant digital screen. Working against all the odds due to a tight deadline, we combined complex technology and traditional film production techniques. With greenscreen filming using facial markers, plus careful post production and bespoke software creation to help control positioning, shading and lighting, we were able to seamlessly integrate the final result with Ocean’s outdoor network. 

And all in a very challenging timeframe – luckily, the force was most definitely with us throughout.

If ever there was a concept that truly needed ‘bringing to life’ with technology and digital creativity to fulfil its potential, this was it. 

With only still images to work from as a start point, we deployed proprietary software that we’d previously developed to map 2D visuals on to 3D environments, which would allow us to add fluid movement. 

Next we used a series of subtle animation touches to bring lifelike behaviours to the characters. The completed animated assets were used in both digital outline and online banners. 

Our agency partner BBH also asked us to create the branded endframes for the TVC. This involved creating a new animation layout and style for the Virgin Media logo and animating the messaging; the result was used across the entire suite of communications. 

For the launch of J20’s ‘Midnight Forest’ juice drink, BBH asked us to help make a version of the kids’ game ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ on an outdoor screen. 

We knew that the main challenge would be keeping the audience as central as possible to the on-screen animation, so we kicked-off the project with a thorough research exercise to help inform the best solution. Eventually, we settled on a route that used a DJ hardware controller as it gave us the tightest control over the animation and sound effects in real-time. 

Also key to success was working closely with Ocean Outdoor to choose the screens and locations best-placed for filming, and collaborating with their hardware provider to ensure everything worked perfectly. 

It was this painstaking approach that enabled a successful project to be delivered in under a month, leaving any heart-stopping surprises solely to Mr Wolf. 

When AMV came to us with an idea to create an interactive mirror that changed people’s faces to scary masks in real-time, it was something that had never been done before.  

As such, we had to devise a detailed view on exactly how we could achieve it. So following an intensive two-week research session, we opted to use a software called Faceshift. Originally conceived for use on film sets to allow film studios to capture actors’ expressions and apply them to 3D characters, the software was precise and flexible enough for us to achieve maximum impact whilst maintaining complete control. 

The tech was installed in a bathroom in an Odeon in West London, allowing us to capture a range of reactions from a wide audience. The work won several awards and went on to become recognised as a groundbreaking project in the facetracking/computer vision industry. 

Faceshift went on to become acquired by Apple and is now used in the iPhone X.