As we head into
2023, there will be more opportunities for brands to create unmissable
collaborative experiences. Studio Giggle’s Managing Director, Jonathan Brigden,
explores what 2023 has to offer…
Experiences are back!
2022 saw us return to a ‘new, new normal’ as
we began to experience life away from Covid. Now, the integration of technical
and creative know how is leading to a sense of freedom when it comes to the
digitisation of working, shopping, and interacting with friends from home:
leaving the house had better be worth it.
Meanwhile, social media has raised
expectations for everyday interaction, as people demand imaginative and
shareable interactions, everywhere.
This all plays out nicely for our industry,
which just so happens to specialise in creating extraordinary memories.
However, some reimagining of what we do is also needed. That’s why Studio
Giggle’s Top 5 trends for 2023 reflect on how events companies can bring the
beauty, fun and drama back to our everyday lives, in unexpected ways.
Giving retail a much needed makeover
The 2022 launch of ‘Outernet’
in the heart of London has created a new canvas for brands to start to immerse passersby
in unique experiences. From Projection Artworks relaxing Panadol experience, to
music performances by Lil Simz, this is a perfect medium to grab eyeballs and
stop people in their tracks.
2023 will see creative event agencies tasked
with bringing brands to life in our daily lives via must-see retail events,
pop-ups and experiential fun. And we can’t wait to see more of this sort of
thing:
This
is the largest spray painted QR code on Earth, by the maestro #FelipePantone.
It's physically located in Hasselt, Belgium, but as Felipe notes: “its soul is
on the internet”. The piece is 30m wide x 25m high and took three days to paint
with 403 Montana cans.
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Description automatically generated]()
Having
a unique visual voice certainly helps when it comes to being a commercially
successful artist. In the case of Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone,
his work deals with dynamism, transformation, digital revolution, and themes
related to the present times and it has a defined visual identity that is
arguably recognised as his work irrespective of the application.
Bringing history and culture to life
Another trend that could turn into an industry
in its own right is using AR and XR to enhance visitor attractions.
The time-proven ritual of viewing historic and
cultural artifacts is the foundation of a lot of global tourism. But what if,
for example, while staring up at the Great Pyramid, you could raise your phone
and see an overlaid vision of the site as it looked in 1,300BC, bustling with
life as its shining limestone facade illuminates King Tut’s initiation
ceremony. It’s not a time machine, but it might be the next best thing.
While overly ambitious attempts to create full
virtual worlds are impractical right now, digital enhancement is where it’s at.
And, it’s work that brands are demanding regularly: often involving using XR
and projection mapping to enhance historical sites and venues, but more recently,
we’ve had discussions about virtual stadium tours and ‘metaverses’ that allow
access to unexplored territories for fans and consumers.
Using AI art creatively
Clients demanding the ‘Next Big Thing’ is no
bad thing, providing what’s on offer is eye-catching, interactive, on brand,
and thought provoking.
Enter, AI art: creations made without the
human touch, with algorithms drawing on vast libraries of imagery on the web to
produce images or video. The results can be moving, surprising, and even
amusing. But how might this help event agencies?
Firstly, AI art is being used to auto
generate landscapes and assist with content editing, increasing the
creative scope of your event, and the ease with which content creation can be
generated. Secondly, there are interactive uses for AI art at your events,
perhaps to create unique keyword-related content for attendees.
The rise and rise of ICVFX (In camera
visual effects).
We have taken virtual production or “ICVFX” to
the core of everything we do at Studio Giggle. Camera tracking, unreal worlds,
LED walls have become the usual workflow for us in the ‘new new normal’. We
took this incredible technology and put a rocket up our virtual events. We are
now building a new virtual production studio in Bristol to bring this
technology permanently to our team and clients.
Up
until now, Virtual Production has been mainly seen in Sci Fi productions. This
year, Netflix’s latest hit 1899 was a new take on using virtual production for
period drama. The restrictions of COVID meant production needed to be contained
within a safe studio environment. The 1899 production team really took the look
of virtual production to a whole new level.
Virtual
Production allows for realistic interaction, and the ability to adapt instantly
to different worlds that can be manipulated in real time to allow for the
perfect camera angle, and limitless creativity.
Technology will allow for more agility
Technology
had freed us to become more agile. As the world came to a standstill in 2020 we
went back to basics and pivoted back into a start-up mentality. We researched,
developed and innovated to enable us to create more offerings to our clients.
From AR marketing to full scale virtual production, Extended Reality virtual
events to motion and volumetric capture to projection mapping. We have been forced to become
experts in creativity and technology.
Completely changing the company in
four months has
certainly taught us agility but also a greater sense of shared learning and the
ability to allow creativity to thrive. Indeed, it’s this philosophy that helped
us jump from 49th to 12th in EVCOM and Moving Image’s ‘UK Top 50 Brand and Corporate Film’ survey, making us the top Brand
and Corporate Film Agency in the South West as well as the winning the best
company in Bristol two years in a row at the Bristol Life Awards.
