Olympic pixel tablets create giant 360˚ screen, inspire live events worldwide

From The Queen’s cameo alongside James Bond to the reunion of the Spice Girls, there’s no doubt Danny Boyle’s approach to the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics, was sheer creative genius. As Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state for culture, Olympics, media and sport, said, it proved the occasion to be “as much a celebration of creativity as sport”.

But so too was it a feat of technical brilliance. Thousands of participants, dozens of vehicles and endless video cameras, but better yet, some 230 miles of cabling to enable 70,500 tablets, and a total of 634,500 pixels, to turn the audience into one enormous digital screen.

Yep, in case you hadn’t realised, the digital animations that appeared as though overlaid on the spectators throughout both ceremonies, were in fact the result of high-powered paddles attached to every seat.

Created by Tait Technologies, each one had nine full colour lights that, when controlled by custom-designed programmes from digital solutions company Crystal CG, sent multiple images around the bowl-shaped arena. In doing so, they not only achieved Boyle’s vision of wanting those in attendance to feel more involved in the action, but also created the world’s biggest ever screen; a 360˚ and seemingly “human powered” one.

During the closing ceremony, more than 75 minutes of digital animations were seen in this way. One example was a psychedelic 1960s sequence that took over 500 hours to produce. Do watch the video below to see some of it action.

“No longer limited by large flat screens, we were presented with the challenge of creating animations to bring the stage and the spectators together,” said Will Case, creative director at Crystal. “We delivered. The live audience and those watching at home were drawn into the action. We are witnessing the death of the traditional video screen – this will transform the way event content is presented in future, becoming a more immersive experience.”

Boyle added: “Every Olympic Ceremony aims for a major technical breakthrough. Our remarkable audience pixels have opened up amazing new images, effects and spectacle, but most of all they have enabled our live stadium audience to be part of the ceremony in a way that’s never been possible before.”

What fantastic crossover that could have for the fashion industry, let alone live events around the world full stop. Imagine catwalk stands that instantly become immersive displays for the collections as they come out; a reflection of the season they’re in, or the inspirations cast by the designer. As the late Alexander McQueen said back in 2009 in reference to live-streaming: “This is the birth of a new dawn. I am going to take you on journeys you’ve never dreamed were possible.”

Let’s hope so…

 

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Calvin Klein launches biggest digital initiative to date with ck one lifestyle campaign

Teasers for the all-new ck one lifestyle line from Calvin Klein were released today.

Conceived by consulting creative director Fabien Baron of Baron + Baron, the launch campaign marks the company’s largest digital initiative to date.

Based primarily on a series of interactive videos, the initiative begins with a new website at ckone.com where users will be able to not only engage with content from the brand, but also upload their own.

A facility to submit and tag videos will be integrated, with posts positioned alongside content from the campaign’s cast members in a bid to make consumers feel as involved as possible with the brand.

“This is an important global multi-product launch and represents the company’s largest digitally-focused campaign to date,” said Tom Murry, president and CEO of Calvin Klein, Inc. “The emphasis on social media and the interactivity of this campaign serve to redefine the ck one brand for a new generation. The creative is exciting and strong and the multi-prong platform is on target to reach a younger demographic, while remaining true to the legacy of the iconic ck one brand.”

The line itself incorporates underwear, denim and swimwear inspired by the iconic unisex fragrance of the same name.

The ads are fronted by model Lara Stone, who is the face of the company across its various brands. Joining her are a variety of other young models, musicians, actors and sports stars including Alice Dellal and Abbey Lee Kershaw, boxing champion Robert Evans, and dancer Jackson Blyton Megran.

It was shot by Steven Meisel, who can also be credited with creating those infamous ck one fragrance ads starring Kate Moss and Marky Mark in 1994.

Kevin Carrigan, global creative director of Calvin Klein Jeans and ck Calvin Klein, said: “Mark and Kate were just young kids then and we wanted the same feel. We wanted to show how diverse the collection is when worn by different people, so we took one jean, one shirt, a great grey T-shirt; classic American basics, and gave them to these cool kids.”

“We put them all in a room, just a big mirrored box surrounded by cameras, and let them try the collection,” Carrigan told Vogue.com. “The ck one collection is not about wearing clothes the way you’ve been told, it’s about making them your own. We put the pieces in there in all sizes, from XXXL to XS; it’s not about the perfect size – it’s a play on proportion and androgyny. Girls were wearing jeans that were baggy and far too big, or wearing oversized shirts as dresses, they made the collection their own. It’s the personalisation of fashion – and the campaign is really just a reportage of them trying the clothes.”

The full reveal of the campaign takes place from March 1, while in the meantime fans are encouraged to become fans of Calvin Klein on Facebook to be kept up-to-date with more information.

There’s also a mobile app, which will integrate video and social media as well as the use of augmented reality to enable further access to content such as from behind-the-scenes.

And if you’re in one of a dozen or so major cities around the world, it’s also likely you’ll spot the campaign on one of numerous LED billboards.

The print version of the campaign, created from stills of the videos, will debut in April magazines, and for the first time be globally enabled with AR technology.

BFC hits outdoor screens with #LFW digital initiative

The British Fashion Council is aiming to reach a wider audience during London Fashion Week this season by displaying video highlights from each day on outdoor screens around the city.

Starting today, shoppers, commuters and tourists will be able to see updates from the week in the underground as well as on an LED screen in the courtyard of Somerset House, where live streaming of the shows taking place will also be aired.

Take a look at the full schedule of what’s on and when, here, and watch all the videos, here.

The initiative will of course culminate with Burberry Prorsum, winner of the inaugural British Fashion Award for digital innovation in 2010, streaming its show live on the famous Landmark 32m digital screen at Piccadilly Circus on Monday – as I mentioned already below.