Expanded Cinema of the future
AUGMENTED VISUALS WITHIN AN ENGAGING AND IMMERSIVE LIVE SHOW HIGHLIGHTING THE ESSENCE OF MERCEDES BENZ PRODUCT AND BRAND COMMUNICATION
NEW FORM OF NARRATION ON STAGE
Based on the long and trustful relationship with Atelier Markgraph, we have been designing and producing the very first augmented reality live show for the Mercedes Benz presentation at the International Automotive Exhibition IAA 2015 in Frankfurt. At this scale, an augmented live show has never been done before. We saw the possibility for a new form of narration on stage, and we made it happen.
How automobiles go online in data space, detect their surroundings and use their sensor fields, adopt their aerodynamics to the airstream and master obstacles in virtual worlds. These were just some of the stories to tell.
Spidercam
With the aid of an elegant Spidercam, that glides around silently to create a tangible live atmosphere, we enhanced the live pictures with generative augmented reality contents and made the Frankfurt Festhalle become a virtual broadcasting studio that changed constantly and brought the invisible to light. Virtual stage sets became part of the on-stage activities creating a visitor experience where both worlds were completely in sync.
AWARDS
Second most sucsessfull entry in the 2016 ADC Competition
ADC - Gold in "Kommunikation im Raum / Craft"
ADC - Gold in "Kommunikation im Raum / Messeauftritt"
ADC - Gold in "Kommunikation im Raum / Architektur Set-Design"
ADC - Silver in "Event / Craft"
CANNES LIONS - Silver for the overall Production
Technical
We created a complete augmented reality workflow in a single environment: From content creation combining generative and procedural graphics with complex 3D assets to simulation to presenting the show on stage, everything was delivered from a single tool. In collaboration with the manufacturer of the camera system we also developed the new camera tracking system, that is solely based on their control and sensor data. It delivers and unprecedented robustness combined with a large operation range and low latency.
3D Scanning
Developing this technology involved several hundred hours of research writing code, optimizing data flow and conducting real world tests. Directed from the control and sensor data from the Spidercam a virtual camera moves simultaneously through a 3D-Scan of the stage space. Unlike conventional optical tracking systems this one protects the camera from the visual changes in the lighting design and from the 500 square meter panel area.
