In a new series of blog posts we will be taking you Behind the scenes on some of our latest builds. First up our Commander-in-Chief and Artistic Director talks us through our most recent project for Drum and Bass producer Sub Focus and the technique we’re calling FrameShift.
Sub Focus – Out The Blue - Interactive YouTube experience
Powster have developed groundbreaking world first technology they have named FrameShift. It allows the user to shift frames of video as the video content is playing. These can be sequenced to create animation controlled by the user.
The application uses the YouTube Chromeless API and pulls in the video to a Flash file embedded into the Facebook newsfeed/timeline. There is an AS3 layer on the video which allows users to change between video feeds simulating animation.
This is a huge breakthrough in terms of interaction as the video can be animated by the user in real time, with filmed footage. It means for instance a user could change a scene from day to night as the scene progresses at any moment, perhaps characters could turn to warewolfs when this happens? Or even control a cameras position in a scene moving around as if they were there! Sub Focus – Out The Blue – Interactive YouTube is really the tip of the iceberg when it comes to future uses for the technology!
Here’s the technical part! With a bit of a helping hand if you’re interesting building your own custom YouTube players which embed into Facebook.
1) YouTube Chromeless API
The API allows you to embed YouTube videos and make your own custom players within Flash, you can read more here.
2) There is a layer of Flash AS3 code which lets users switch between feeds from the YouTube API in real time without losing sync. Powster have named their technology to do this FrameShift and are looking to utilise it for many music videos and interactive trailers for movies in the future.
3) There is Facebook meta data on the landing page which lets the Flash be embedded into timeline/pinned posts/Facebook newsfeed. Here’s the meta data used:
<meta property="og:title" content="Sub Focus 'Out The Blue' Ft. Alice Gold - YOU CONTROL THE VIDEO" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Click the PLAY button then drag objects in the video to control their movement, colour, lighting and focus in the world first ‘Out The Blue’ INTERACTIVE YOUTUBE VIDEO. Click 'Share' to make this appear on your timeline." />
FrameShift literally gives filmed footage the level of interaction possible in 3D game real-time rendering, at the moment in a limited amount of control at any one point.
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If you have any questions on the creative, get in touch! [email protected]
Sub Focus – Out The Blue is out now on iTunes: http://bit.ly/H6l5Nm
A very well written article by Forbes contributor/ Eric Jackson on the development of the web dominance and the inevitable shift of power in the next few years. Really interesting and extremely articulate.
As always Simian Mobile Disco's latest offering is more than just boundary altering electronic music. The boys have not only written an amazing album but also put together a brilliant new iPhone and iPad app. Kate Moross has partnered with the duo once more on visual duties incorporating her usual style of repeating patterns into an interactive app that adds to the music's mesmeric style.
Another great example of a band finding a way of getting round the problem of illegal downloads and making the most out of new and interesting outlets.
The guardian picks apart That Games Company's latest offering and discusses whether or not it is a game or a piece of interactive art. you can watch the trailer for the game here, gameplay footage here and the gamespot review here.
It's the end of SXSW and we're all flying back from Texas to write up all the awesome stuff we've been doing!
It is the end of SXSW's interactive festival. That part is true. But here at Powster we have remained safe and sound in East London for the duration. Safe, cold and out of the action... Bloody SXSW.
Out of all the interesting discussions and useful technologies that have appeared over the last week or so it has been BBH New York's headline grabbing tactics of turning homeless people into WiFi hot spots that's really got attention from the online community and that of national news papers.
BBH have, in their words, updated the way that homeless people can make a living out of street vending published titles like the Big Issue or the american equivalent by opting out of selling publications and instead selling themselves as wireless hot spots. BBH feel that as the amount of people who read print declines and the amount of people reading the news on wireless devices increases it's a logical move for the homeless community, or as they call it 'houseless'.
This turning of the homeless into wireless masts obviously has been monetized and obviously has caused a bit of a stir. The cash you pay to use this service is reinvested into the homeless community as the selling of publications is. The problem seems to be that this new idea dehumanizes the homeless and takes away the idea that they have customers to coerce into buy their wares.
Today The Atlantic Wire has summarized that the scandal has gone full circle and that the outpouring of disgust at the idea in the first place has reacted a point of acceptance concluding to their readership that it went "from a non-issue to outrage and back to a non-issue in about 48 hours".
Storm in a tea cup? BBH making a scene for the sake of it? Probably a bit of both. Nobody likes upheaval in such dodgy territory but this could be a good way to bring a section of society into a realm that they wouldn't otherwise have any voice in.
The Peel app is unveiling the next step for social TV this week with the debut of a second-screen engagement platform for the upcoming episodes of American Idol. The new feature takes social TV beyond checking in to programming by letting users interact with specific shows and other viewers ...
Canada is a country that as Europeans we instantly connect with wilderness, snow and moose, not to technology and interactivity. Interestingly though recent studies have suggested that the Canadian people are more linked in that a lot of other smaller, more traditionally tech-savvy countries. In the last 2 years the amount of Internet-using Canadians that have access to social media outlets increased from 50% to 70%. that means that just over half of all Canadians are hooked up to one or more social networking sites. This is put into context when on average only 10% of the rest of the world are socially linked in the same way.
To reflect this the Canadian government has invested more money over the last few years into digital technologies and commentators have encouraged them to continue doing so to a greater extent than they all ready are. In 2010 the minister of industry felt that by the year 2020 would be "a country that boasts a globally competitive digital economy that is driven by innovation and enhanced productivity and generates enduring prosperity”. since then the Canadian government has continued investing in their digital economy. Last year the government began implementing a digital skills strategy for the whole country. The eventual goal of this strategy would be to create a strong infusion into the existing workforce of skilled digital workers.
Now at the start of 2012 we can see the changes and implementations of this digital push. The Canadian tourist board has created it's own form of twitter crossed with four squared called Explore Canada Like a Local. This website and app combination allow users to share there experiences and stories of travelling through Canada creating a up to the minute lonely planet-esque guide. The site lists all the major cities and tourist destinations in Canada and allows users to recommend and talk among themselves about good places to go and how to get to them. This innovative way of bringing data to the tourist trade of Canada has earned the creators much credit. Here are some of the most recent examples of this expansion:
Over the festive period Toronto took part in the digital social revolution by having a Christmas tree installed in one of its train station. The tree, that was made out of wires and LEDs as opposed to bark and sap, reacted every time someone tweeted with a certain hash tag included. The tree would have more lights lit the more people were talking about it within the digital sphere and whenever the correct hash tag was used a wave of different colored lights would go up the tree. This is a great way of blending the real world with the digital and explaining to people that who don't really know about social media how important it is.
This blurring of real world and the wired has also been achieved through twisting the way users view documentary. The documentary called the One Millionth Tower was filmed and set in a Toronto high rise and is describes the problems of living around the world. The film is interactive and this means that users can engage with the parts of the documentary they want to.
Another website that has gained a lot of attention for a similar recently is bear71.com. this site was built to raise awareness for the dwindling size of a nature reserve in Canada. The site acts as an interactive video that allows the user to interact with elements and stories around the park. This experience has not only changed the usual flow of information to users, breaking down the boundaries between documentary and experiential website, wild and wired experiences. This website has made such waves that it was featured at LBI's social media conference this week.
Facebook have updated the service they offer to businesses and page owners. Pages now make connecting with your fans and target consumers easier. They've also updated the way that adverts and sponsored stories reach people and the technology that means you engage with the right people.
Facebook announced these changes and other big developments for pages on a live stream. Here's what our new Facebook page looks like.
The new reach generator makes sure that pages reach as many people as they can, up to 75% more fans can now be reached all the time.
the new system rewards pages that post succinctly and not too frequently so as not to create spam for its fans. Facebook then ensures the the content gets pushed down the right channels.
Facebook premium is another new service that is being rolled out for businesses to take advantage of. The service lets businesses engage more fully with clients and customization options.
all very interesting developments but will this make a difference? Only time will tell...
PSFK have recently reported that a twitter marketing campaign embarked on by McDonalds has backfired massively. The restaurant chain tried to get people to tweet about the good experiences they've had of eating McDonald's and #McDStories when they did to promote it. However, some would say obviously, the tweets generally presided over how terrible the food/service/general vibe of McDonald's is.
This kind of gaff is usually on a smaller scale and generally in the political sphere. McDonald's have used this kind of marketing scheme before to promote there use of fresh ingredients in their meals. That campaign worked exactly as planned but these tactics worked so badly for the new stories campaign McDonalds officials pulled the campaign after a couple of days.
Director Santiago Grasso and production house Opusbou have won much acclaim for their sort film El Empleo. The film was created in 2008 but has only recently seen light of day and over 100 awards globally. The South American film isn't exactly feel good and, in the current economic mood, feels extremely apt, with people taking work where they can get it and working in positions they'd rather not.
The animation style holds true to the Opusbou's other projects and has a distinctly European feel to it. Despite being written in Argentina. The background of the director as a student of visual communication design is also apparent in the piece through the slow deliberate way the story unfolds.
Channel 4 satellite channel more 4 have awarded the Design and Motion studio ManvsMachine with the task to rebrand the station. They came up with a contemporary design that employs mechanical devices that flip through a selection of coloured triangles. ManvsMachine manufactured around 400 of these machines and then attached them to a series of objects such as a boat and a tree. This video neatly sums up the execution:
http://vimeo.com/35283903
The rebrand was commissioned to reflect the shift the channel has made from the arts, documentaries and cinematic film to shows more orientated around property, food , health and fashion.
Even though it seems a shame the channel has slipped from its thoughtful beginnings programming wise, this rebrand is works brilliantly well showing that the channel has got it's pulse on what is current and what people want to watch.
Watch out for a Powster website update of a similar ilk very soon!!
Modeselektor have commissioned Parisian directing collective Dent Leather to direct their new music video for the single 'Evil Twin'. Dent Leather roped in Studio Meow to produce the video with them as they did previously for Siriusmo's single 'Idiologie'. The video has the tell tale Modeselektor trademark monkey face stuck to two twins that seem to hate each other. The video also blends lo fi effects like cardboard instruments and simple white backgrounds with the pretence that The viewer is actually watching a series of movies in Quicktime that blend perfectly together.
