Flying Animated Puppets

In other cutting edge drone news, the Guardian reports on Disney's plans for using drones to animate giant parade characters.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/28/disney-puppets-fireworks-drones-patent

I am wondering how soon we will be seeing these giants "walking" down 6th ave.

The Worlds First Drone Circus

Programed formation drones are growing up.

I posted in 2013 about the use of formation drones being used to promote Star Trek: Into the Darkness in London.

http://experientialdesigns.blogspot.com/2013/05/experiential-marketing-how-really-old.html

Yesterday, the Guardian reported about a first of its kind Air show, incorporating drones and lasers, to take place this year in Amsterdam.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/16/air-2015-drone-circus-amsterdam-host-worlds-first

[“In this high energy and explosive show, drones will take centre stage to bring a collaboration and fusion of music, video, projections and special effects. AIR allows you to experience a variety of ballet and battles, races and lasers, circus, illusions and most of all magic from hundreds of drones,” said the event’s promoter Fjuze in a statement on the site announcing the AIR2015 show]

Here is a clip teaser for the show:

3D Projection Mapping

3D projection mapping is the process of projecting a two dimensional image onto a three dimensional surface, to make the surface seem to "come alive". I became aware of recent uses of this technology in early 2011 when I came across a video of a promotion Samsung had done in 2010 to promote their (at the time) new 3D television. I've placed this video in my post on Experiential Marketing, but here it is again:

The technology is extraordinarily impressive, and has been used in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues including in set design for live performances. Here's an excellent video which helps to understand the process, and the importance of having a true three dimensional shape onto which to project the image:

One of the recurring themes you will find in this blog is how new technology allows for variations on old ideas. In this case, the quality of the projectors is new, so ever larger areas can be used as canvasses. 3D computer modeling also allows for creating a wider variety of images. However, the basic elements of the technology have been in use since the 1960's. By whom? Why Disney of course!

Just like the idea of 3D stage "holograms" (see my post on "Holograms! .... Well, not Really") is based on old stage tricks, 3D projection mapping is based on the very simple idea of projecting an image onto a surface that mimics the suface of the image that was filmed. Case in point: Madam Leota:

The effect is achieved by projecting film footage of the face of an actress onto a white bust form. A wig and crystal ball hide the projector elements. There was a time in the 1980's when it was popular to create "talking mannequins" in commercial settings. I can't find any posted videos at a glance, but here is an installation at a museum that was done just last year:

I incorporated the effect into one of my Halloween productions in 1995. I filmed and projected the face of a "ghost" (my wife) onto a white bust of George Washington at the 300 year old Hanover Tavern in Virginia. I have not used it in the aspect of set or architectural projection, but as a set designer, 3D modeler, and video producer, I am looking forward to finding some applications for this technology.

Creativity lies not only in developing new technologies, but in finding innovative uses for existing technologies. If you'd like to discuss creative applications of new and old school technology for an upcoming event, send me an email through the form at the top of this blog.

Have brain... will travel.

Interactive Electronic Displays

As much as I pride myself of staying on top of new technology, this one totally passed me by. It is a product called Bare Conductive, which allows for all manner of interactive electronic experiences. Here's a video from 2009 of a human synthesizer consisting of 15 models and a composer.

Here's an interactive installation that was done in May of this year:

Consumed - Inspace, May 2013 from Artur Janas on Vimeo.

I'm working on a live interactive theatrical project that will take place in the Fall. I'll have to put my thinking cap on and see how I can use this product. The conductive pen is available at Radio Shack and  paint can be ordered online.

Incentivizing Behavior

Back in November, I started a new position as account executive for Turnkey Promotions in Richmond, Virginia.  On the surface, Turnkey is a company that sells hats, shirts, or even custom coins with Bill Clinton's face on them. As far as specialty advertising companies go, Turnkey is tops, and the entire staff is consumately professional.

Where Turnkey really shines however, is in helping non-profits raise funds through grassroots peer-to-peer fundraising, in events like walks, runs, and rides. As their tagline says: 

"Turnkey Promotions has been working with nonprofits such as the American Cancer Society, Special Olympics, and the Alzheimer's Association since 1989. We have begun to see a shift in strategy for fundraising events and capital campaigns due to technological advances and social media. Suddenly, we are able to measure the difference between giving to an organization and giving to a friend on behalf of an organization."

What Turnkey has learned over the years, through analysis of massive amounts of collected data on past events, is how incentives impact behavior; and more importantly, what type of incentives work best. While recognition is important to modify behavior, incentives (and by definition, you have to know about it in order for it to be an incentive) work better. And the incentives that work best are the ones that can not only trigger an emotional response, but can be shared with others.

Back in February, I participated in the Polar Plunge for Virginia Special Olympics. Basically, about 3000 lunatics jump into the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for a great cause. Here's a video my wife shot of me coming out of the water. (I chickened out and only got my feet wet):

I got there a little bit late, and missed the race of the entire crowd towards the water. Here's an overhead shot from a camera mounted to a flying drone similar to the ones used in the Star Trek:Into the Darkness London promotion:

All in all, it was an amazing day, and over a million dollars was raised for the Special Olympics. Because I raised over $100, I walked away with a long sleeve Special Olympics tee shirt (which I'm wearing in the first video). Now, every time I wear that shirt, I think about that day, and the process of raising money, and all the friends who supported me. The shirt is part and parcel of the ongoing experience.Here's a link to an informative blog post by Turnkey CEO Katrina Van Huss:  Branded Versus Non-Branded Fundraising Gifts. Which is Better?


It turns out Turnkey and I were not the perfect match, as my need to be hands on is much stronger than I had expected. But the relationship gave me renewed motivation in regards to selling my own brand of expertise, and taught me another facet of designing experiences to not only provoke a reaction, but to pro-actively impact behavior.

Holograms! (Well... not really)

There is a lot of buzz these days over a variety of 2D projections that are referred to as "holograms".

A hologram is a device commonly used in science fiction stories. It is a sort of projection into space of a three dimensional object, making the object seem as if it actually exists in the projected space. The one familiar to most people would be the hologram of Princess Leia projected by R2D2 in Star Wars (the original).

In 2011, projections referred to as "holograms" were introduced into the Manchester Airport. Dulles is among American airports that currently use them.

In 2012, Snoop Dogg performed live on stage at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with a projection of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur. The projection was referred to as a "hologram". Warning, explicit language:

As impressive as all this is, I can't help but smile to myself a bit, and think "parlor tricks".

I have a long time interest in hologram and holograph technology. In 1984, on a visit to my childhood neighborhood in Brooklyn, I asked my cousin Louis if there was anything in the city (Manhattan)  he recommended I go see. He suggested the Museum of Holography which closed in 1992 due to lack of funding. It makes me sad to see the popularity of these gimmicks today, when a brilliant place like that museum couldn't survive.

You may be sensing a bit of dismissal on my part of these "new" technologies. If so, it is because these fall disappointingly short of "real" holograms, and in fact much more interesting (and believable) illusions of holograms have been around for a long time. (I say illusion, because genuine 3D hologram technology is something that is still not possible on anything other than perhaps a very small scale.) The images promoted as "holograms" are merely two dimensional images projected on to unexpected surfaces. You have to look at them from a specific angle (in line with the projector) for them to look right. If you view them obliquely, their 2D nature is betrayed.

As it turns out, the concept for the Tupac idea is a variation on a 19th century stage illusion, the Pepper's Ghost. Except John Pepper didn't use projections, he used reflections, and his ghost was not just two dimensional, but truly three dimensional. The great thing about this effect is that since it is genuinely three dimensional, changing your viewing angle does not change the effect. Disney used the concept to great effect when they built the Haunted Mansion in 1969.

I first learned how to create a "Pepper's Ghost" when I worked for Morris Costumes in 1981. Morris is one of the worlds leading suppliers of "haunted attraction" props, costumes, and effects, and I have utilized the concept in several of my past projects. One such use was in a theatrical production of Willy Wonka, where I used the effect to make Mike TV "teleport" across stage. The actor started out in the left hand chamber, and melted away into nothingness before the eyes of the audience. He was "reincarnated" as a small puppet in the right hand chamber.

I've used variations of it to make ghosts appear outside of windows, and to transform a skeletal corpse into an actor portraying a zombie in a riff on the classic carnival "girl to gorilla" trick.

There is a great deal of potential in applying new technologies to classic concepts. New school meets old school is where it is at!

Alternate Reality: Breaking the Bounds of Fiction

Alternate Reality is self-referential form of storytelling in which the story or "fiction" expands outside the frame of the story itself, and can create an illusion that the story itself is true. It can be as simple as telling campers around a fire that the ghost story you are about to tell them is not only true, but happened "somewhere around here", or it can be held up by a complex network of websites, social media, and live events.


In 1999, the world was introduced to The Blair Witch Project. The independent movie cost $60,000 to make, and grossed $248 million worldwide. It is a movie of arguable merit, but the thing that propelled it to a 1.5 million dollar opening weekend was the marketing campaign. The movie is about a group of film students who are investigating the urban legend of the Blair Witch, and meet unfortunate fates.
The marketing story which framed the movie was that the students actually DID go investigating the legend, and were never seen again. Months before the movie was released, "missing" flyers were put up near college campuses all across the country. Reportedly, the footage they shot was found, which of course is the movie itself. Many people went to the movie believing the fabricated marketing story, and that they were looking at real documentary footage.

In 2006, Lonelygirl15 created a series of "video blogs" on youtube. She created an immense crowd of loyal followers, who were furious when they discovered months later that Lonelygirl15 was actually a paid actress, and they had been watching a produced series of videos.

In 2008, the movie Cloverfield was released. It is a "Godzilla" type movie about a huge monster that comes from the sea and attacks New York City. Marketing for the movie began with a curious website for a product called "Slusho", a frozen beverage made from an ingredient that comes form deep within the sea. The website was registered in Japan (a .jp suffix, instead of .com) for added authenticity.

The name "Slusho" was a giveaway that the website was linked to J.J. Abrams, creator of the tv show  LOST. In discussion boards devoted to the still running television show LOST, such as 4815162342.com, discussions started popping up about the Slusho website, and how Slusho was a beverage featured in the first season of Alias, also created by Abrams.

When you poked around the Slusho website, you learned that a parent company, Tagruato, offering distribution opportunities in the united states. 

If you endeavored to go to the website listed in that text box (no live link was provided), you found out that Tagruato was in the business of drilling deep sea wells (the source of the fictional ingredient in the fictional beverage), and that a well was scheduled to open off the coast of New York City in September, 2007 (exactly one year prior to the release of the film Cloverfield).

Characters in the movie had myspace pages. A website called JamieandTeddy.com was launched (the password is “jllovesth”), and numerous other threads were created for persistent audiences to unravel.

Is that all confusing enough for you?

In Alternate Reality parlance, the Slusho webiste is called a "rabbit hole", in reference to the portal leading to another word in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The rabbit hole is the entry point for the audience to be introduced to the "meta-fiction", or the fictional story that frames ultimate product being sold, which in this case was the movie Cloverfield. For more J.J. Abrams shenanigans, check out the convoluted LOST Experience ARG (Alternate Reality Game)

I took my own shot at creating Alternate Reality Marketing when I was producing an independent haunted attraction on a farm in Virginia in 2009. In an homage to classic horror/sci fi films like The Blob and Night of the Living Dead, as well as one of my favorite television shows, the X-Files,  I created a story of a meteor that had struck the farm, releasing a virus that caused genetic mutations and revived the dead.

I started by shooting a short video of the actual meteor hit and posting it to youtube. It serves to introduce the story, and also provides driving directions to the farm. The hit counter is still very low (fewer than 700 view as of this writing), which points to the importance of marketing your rabbit hole!

I created a blog that was written by a fictional member of a fictional paranormal investigation group, PHRAWG. I also began created ads for the local newspaper that were designed to look like news stories:

To this day, the locals still talk about the marketing campaign. It was quirky, memorable, and fun. I am in the process of designing a new campaign for a 2013 Halloween event. Look for that post in November.