Minivegas' 3D Interactive Music Installation

Dance fans at this year’s Øya Rock Festival were invited to take part in a unique experience, a larger-than-life 3D landscape of an audio responsive forest, that responds in time with the music played around it.
 

The concept and development of the installation was the work of creative production company Minivegas and its in-house team of 3D artists and developers.  The aim was to create a playfully engaging installation that would bring the SONOS sound experience to life, whilst creating buzz and talkability at the festival.

 

 

Inspired by the SONOS Wireless HiFi System functionalities , the high-tech Play & Chill forest contains fantastic plant characters, which are animated through real-time motion capture so that they ‘dance’ with their real-life partners, the visitors to the experience. 

 
The challenge to the Minivegas team who created the installation was to develop an installation that would work whatever type of music the festival-goers chose.  In order to ensure an optimum user experience, over 100 different pieces of music, from rock to reggae, gabba to grunge, were tested over the course of development.

 
Over 2,000 people experienced the SONOS Play & Chill experience and took to the floor with plant dance partners over the course of the festival period. The installation is being considered for inclusion at events in 2014.

 
Maarten Boon, Creative Director and Partner, Minivegas, commented: “This was our most ambitious audio-responsive installation ever and required our 3D artists and content developers to work closely together and really challenge what was possible with user interaction. 
 

“In spite of the technical challenges along the way, the result is not only a magical experience for Øya festivalgoers, but a strong example of the potential of 3D content and interactivity. It is interesting to see how immersive digital environments that can respond in real time reduce the inhibitions of the user and encourage them to engage with the experience in emotional ways.”
 

Brian Bourke, Executive Producer, Minivegas, commented: “With Blur, Wu-Tang Clan and Kraftwerk headlining Øya this year we knew that whatever we created had to be pretty versatile and play to the tastes of the people, whatever the tunes may be.  Over the course of development, our offices were continuously blasting out the tunes, from Bon Jovi to Beyonce, A Flock of Seagulls to Rizzle Kicks, to really challenge the team to get the finished project as perfect as possible. I think our neighbours are used to the eclectic musical tastes of our company, but maybe this was pushing it.”