PROJECTS A Sixteen:Nine Podcast

Every year Toronto hosts "Scotiabank Nuit Blanche" an overnight art event that takes place across the entire city.
In 2015 SapientNitro (now SapientRazorfish) had just moved into their new offices and worked with their landlord, Allied Reit, to come up with something interesting for the lobby of the building.

The idea they came up with was 'Mimir's Well', a very old story about the Norse God Oldin, who sacrificed his eye to drink from Mirmir's Well and gain the wisdom and memory of the nine worlds.

Using Kinect technology, Unity 3D animation and parametric speakers guests stepping up to one of the nine sides of the exhibition were met with screens showing their own reflections, which soon morphed them into an animal of Norse lore.
As visitors experimented with their newly adopted forms, sound enveloped them while their surroundings transformed into one of the nine Norse worlds.

I spoke with Graham Ameron, who is Associate Creative Director at SapientRazorfish, about the technology and thinking behind this 12 hour installation.

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This episode we're speaking with Dave Etherington, who is CSO of Intersection, one of the companies responsible for LinkNYC.

In 2014 New York City set out to overhaul their payphone infrastructure.

This is a really big project, with over $200 million invested in new fiber optic cable to support the more than 7,500 Link kiosks that will be installed over the next eight years. In fact, Dave tells me that this is "the largest deployment of digital displays in the world".

We talked about this Apex Award winning installation via Skype.

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This episode we're speaking with Dave Etherington, who is CSO of Intersection, one of the companies responsible for LinkNYC.

In 2014 New York City set out to overhaul their payphone infrastructure.
The result is LinkNYC which provides anyone in New York City with free phone calls to anywhere in the U.S., free wifi, local information and some other things that Dave and I discuss. It's all supported by advertising, but as you'll hear, that can be OK.

This is a really big project, with over $200 million invested in new fiber optic cable to support the more than 7,500 Link kiosks that will be installed over the next eight years. In fact, Dave tells me that this is "the largest deployment of digital displays in the world".

We talked about this Apex Award winning installation via Skype.

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This episode we talk to Vlad Edelman, CEO of HEROFI Website, who won a Gold medal Apex Award in the Food & Beverages category at DSE 2017 for their work with Buffalo Wild Wings.

They worked with HEROFI to create BDUBS-TV, a private network that features user generated content broadcast to assigned stores based on location via the Hometown Highlights program.

BDUBS-TV also has a broad range of locally targeted content, events and micro-streaming that expand the depth of relevant programming.

I spoke with Vlad on the floor of DSE about engaging customers via digital signage and why good content may be all about 'rules'.

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This episode we talk to Vlad Edelman, CEO of HEROFI Website, who won a Gold medal Apex Award in the Food & Beverages category at DSE 2017 for their work with Buffalo Wild Wings.

Although Buffalo Wild Wings is the largest sports bar chain in the world, operating over 1,200 restaurants, they were facing some challenges relating to identity, uniqueness and differentiating themselves in their communities.

They worked with HEROFI to create BDUBS-TV, a private network that features user generated content broadcast to assigned stores based on location via the Hometown Highlights program.

BDUBS-TV also has a broad range of locally targeted content, events and micro-streaming that expand the depth of relevant programming.
They combine all this content with some extra data visualizations, original programming, and carefully curated licensed media.

I spoke with Vlad on the floor of DSE about engaging customers via digital signage and why good content may be all about 'rules'.

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Movilok won the DSE 2017 Silver APEX Award in the Event Venues & Hospitality category for their work at the hotel La Fonda Barranco.

Even though the installation is just a single screen, it's the functionality and interactivity of this "Bidirectional Interaction Information Point" that make it so interesting.

Using a Chromebox with the Movilok App allows visitors to connect to the display with their mobile browser in their native language 24/7.

I spoke, first to Luis del Ser, from Movilok and then to Alejandro Abrio, from La Fonda Barranco hotel, on the floor of DSE, just hours before they won their award.

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This episode we feature Dan Hagen, CEO of 10net, based in Vancouver and Seattle.

10net won a Bronze Medal for their work for with cosmetic company Lush, during the Vancouver Ted Talks in 2016.

"The Dream Lounge" was a temporary installation to expose Ted Talk attendees to the Lush brand and provide a sanctuary away from the hectic pace of the show.

The highlight of the project was a hanging canopy of living greenery and moss, within which was a suspended a six foot square transparent LED screen playing ambient “Bath Art' content, which was also mirrored on a vertical LED video wall.

The project required a custom built structure that allowed rapid deployment by two people, as well as a few other nice little touches.

Dan and I grabbed a quiet(ish) corner at the back of the DSE floor to discuss the project. 

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If you like ambient content that is generated by data, then the lobby of 2 Queen St. East in Toronto is your kind of place.

The original 1910 bank branch facade is backed with the conveniences of a modern office and unique lobby content that builds on the notion of past and present.

Forge Media created the digital art installation entitled “Passage of Light” which combines constantly-shifting generative art, and the requisite tenant branding and event information, all displayed on two 12-foot-tall columns.

Created using Unity, the 3D gaming engine, the content is never the same twice because isn't video, it's actually being created live.

One really subtle aspect is a colour matching element outside the building that connects those passing with what's happening inside.

I spoke with Laurence Roberts, partner of Forge Media, about how the project came together and how they turned windspeed at the airport into content downtown.

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If you like ambient content that is generated by data, then the lobby of 2 Queen St. East in Toronto is your kind of place.

The original 1910 bank branch facade is backed with the conveniences of a modern office and unique lobby content that builds on the notion of past and present.

Forge Media created the digital art installation entitled “Passage of Light” which combines constantly-shifting generative art, and the requisite tenant branding and event information, all displayed on two 12-foot-tall columns.

Created using Unity, the 3D gaming engine, the content is never the same twice because isn't video, it's actually being created live.

One really subtle aspect is a colour matching element outside the building that connects those passing with what's happening inside.

I spoke with Laurence Roberts, partner of Forge Media, about how the project came together and how they turned windspeed at the airport into content downtown.

Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

This episode of Projects is about The Jacksonville International Airport, in northern Florida, which serves 5.5 million passengers a year.

While their digital overhaul isn't as "spectacular" as some of our previous episodes, it is a complex and well thought out project, who's content is likely more relevant to its audience.

Projects of this size are becoming more commonplace, so I asked Colleen Hamilton, Principle at Art of Context and Steven Shultz, Director of Information Technology for JAX, about some of the details involved in delivering a project like this, including engaging stakeholders, effective emergency messaging and avoiding scope-creep.

People at airports rely on data a lot, and can get very cranky when things aren't correct, so it's interesting to hear how they got it right.

I spoke with Colleen and Steven via Skype.

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