Monthly Archives: October 2021

 
Posted by in Technical on

Producing an immersive performance for Audi is all about the result. But with our large projects, it’s not always apparent that we produce the project right from concept to the finished thing.

So here are some photos taken during the creation of the project…

“…We started with the storyline that Richard came up with and went from there. There were weekly demos where we worked out not only what the content would be, but also how we would go about achieving the projections as we wanted to keep a small footprint on the car showroom floor – which was technically challenging because the area that we wanted to project over was really large…”

Toby Gardner | Technical Lead, Conical Sphere Media

We set to work creating two visual elements for the projections. There was the central screen which combined clips cut together from a range of Audi adverts. To compliment this, we ran up a series of CGI effects that would act as supporting textures. This involved 3D camera work within AfterEffects and the creation of over 150 individual clips to add together.

“…Usually with projection mapping you are working on the outside of a building. But with this project, we wanted to showcase our ability to transform a space inside. So the first thing we did was to measure the showroom and generate a 3D model. This gave us the dimensions we were working with and allowed us to work out the lenses for the projectors we would bring in…”

Richard McLester | Creative Director, Conical Sphere Media

But there was a twist…
“…As we wanted to showcase how accessible our system is, we were strictly limited on the budget we could use to hire additional kit in. So rather than hiring a few large expensive projectors which obviously would have been easier, we instead put together 8 smaller projectors to do the job.”

Sam Tucker | Communications Lead, Conical Sphere Media

The video clips are all triggered live via MIDI from Ableton Live clips. This is done by sending the MIDI to a DMX board, which then in turn triggers our MOSAIC interface modules. There’s one module per projector (or sometimes screens). A huge amount of the R&D work that went into this project was in order to get two video clips to seamlessly fade between each other creating the appearance of a single video. We also added in features such as edge featuring and bespoke masking so that we could blend or map the projections. Again, as the modules would be situated remotely, these features were all programmed up to be triggered by DMX commands. Here’s one of the projectors situated 40 metres away from the main computer (projector circled in orange):
“…This has been a fun project as it’s involved a lot of low level programming – DMX protocols, Bash scripting – which makes a nice change from SQL, Javascript & PHP Frameworks that I’m usually dealing with…”

Toby Gardner | Technical Lead, Conical Sphere Media

To find out more about MOSAIC…
 
 
Posted by in Technical on
We have been working with the Body Weight Warrior aka fitness coach Tom Merrick this past year, to develop a members only portal for his website. The members only portal allows Tom to give his 150,000+ YouTube subscribers access to exclusive video content – helping him to monetise his passion. Watch a walkthrough of the new website here:
Make your vision a reality…
All work copyright Conical Sphere Media 2017. All rights reserved.
 
 
Posted by in Technical, Uncategorised on
Stressed with online zoom meetings With lockdown accelerating the move to working from home, video conferencing was always going to be key in facilitating this. But we weren’t satisfied with existing solutions being as easy to use as they said they were… This is the story of how we ended up with our own custom solution.
“…We wanted something that even non-technical people would find easy to use, as simple as making a phone call. The focus had to be on the conversation that we were having, not on navigating URLs or remembering how to access a video call.” Richard McLester | Director, Conical Sphere Media
The solution we came up with was to create easy to navigate buttons that linked to our secure video rooms. This meant that clients could easily navigate where they needed to go, just as if they had come into a physical office. We even called these “Meeting Room 1” and “Meeting Room 2”, just like a real-life office. Staff members could book out a meeting room and arrange to meet clients face to face. 5 Reasons to Choose Conical Sphere MeetAt.Work

1. In-Browser (No App Downloads)

Our meeting rooms work in a normal web browser. So you don’t have to download another App or any other software to your computer. This means that literally anyone with access to the internet can immediately contact us.
“…Most people are comfortable using a web-browser so it made sense to use to use that as the basis for communication. Installing a programme or App just seemed a barrier to a lot of customers – it’s like saying you can only talk to us on our terms. We wanted to make sure there was no reason why the conversation couldn’t take place…” Toby Gardner, Technical Lead | Conical Sphere Media

2. No Time Limits or Sudden Upgrades

As we are hosting the platform on our own servers, there are no time limits. The room can remain open for as long as you like. In fact, as we usually have a room open all working hours for the time to work together. It also means that the software only updates when we choose to which means that we can migrate seamlessly to new features without compromising projects that rely on the software working.
“…We started out using 3rd party cloud hosted software, but one day our provider changed the features without warning. As we were reliant on certain features always working, it was safer to host our own solution.” Sam Tucker | Communications Lead, Conical Sphere Media

3. Security

There has been a lot of press coverage of the Zoom security issues. Our rooms are fully secure with both password protection and an integrated lobby system. When facilitating an online event, we always provide in-person technical support and identity verification.
“…If we have a high profile client we are working with, or using the room to facilitate a live broadcast then it’s imperative that the room works as expected. From experience we know that if the stakes are high, we have to have full control to provide guarantees.” Richard McLester | Director, Conical Sphere Media

4. Customisation

We offer custom branding as standard with all our meeting rooms. So when you meet it really feels like your office and customers know they have come to the right place. But we also offer additional feature requests if there is something extra that you need. Feel free to ask!
“… We’ve been using Conical Sphere MeetAt.Work since May and not only has it been easier to use than any other platform, they’ve always known where to find me if I do get stuck for any reason… It’s now integral to our work and I spend most of my day on it in one form or another.” Melvin Mayes | Director, JourneyRight Limited

5. Cost

When we looked at the charges other competitors were charging for services such as Zoom, Webex, etc. we realised that actually we could even compete with them on price, despite offering a more personal, hands-on service. For a full list of prices and features, do have a look here… But probably the easiest way is just to get in touch and ask for a demo in person. We’ll speak to you, … that’s right, in our meeting room!
Demo Our Online Meeting Room