Founded by interactive artists Anthony Scavarelli and Henri Kuschkowitz we are an innovative team of interactive programmers, creatives, and artists that focus on live public projections and installations. Our work is best suited for festivals, museums, special events, and experiential marketing.
We are based in Ottawa, Ontario Canada.
"Bringing the limitless possibilities of the virtual world into the real one."
We create innovative interactive installations used to visualize a message in a public space. We believe it is important to have an interactive component so that those that contribute to our works, through interaction, will feel better connected to it.
Contact us to bring imagination to life.
Below is just a small list of projects members of our team have worked on. Also, some ideas of what is possible.
Under the Sea
Directing and teaching two grade.7 classrooms about interactive art, together we created an interactive piece for the Ottawa International Children's Festival to promote global warming and climate change awareness.
Visitors to this space could interact with elements such as the fish, birds, and bubbles using their hands. Using this interaction as a metaphor for climate change awareness and action when there was no interaction the waters would rise, glaciers melt, and the temperature rise visually. Conversely, when there was interaction the effects would be reversed.
This piece was on display at the 2012 Ottawa International Children's Festival May 30th - June 3rd.
The Philosopher Cube
Using Twitter to receive and answer questions from passers-by this large 80ft projection asked people to stop and think about what humanity means to them in downtown Ottawa.
The Philosopher Cube was a project meant to evoke an emotive response from passers-by. Fortunately many remember, months later, the unique visuals they saw displayed on Rideau Centre at the 2010 Electric Fields Festival.
This piece was powered by a 6000 lumen projector projecting an image approximately 80ft squared, and created using eye-catching modern 3D graphics and special effects.
Sanctuary
This highly interactive project envelops one to four visitors in small hexagon display. This adventure challenges visitors, using laser pointers, to solve puzzles to escape a cursed temple.
One of the most complicated but innovative projects we have worked on Sanctuary utilized 5 projectors and 5 rear-projection screens to enclose up to 4 participants into a small space meant to represent a floating raft.
Built using Unity it employed many custom additions and graphics to fully realize the experience of floating on a raft while trying to solve puzzles using coloured laser pointers. Participants also had to avoid obstacles using their averaged body positions to determine which direction to steer the raft towards. This project was a hugely interactive, innovative, and enjoyable experience.
Aquaroom
This interactive display captures a visitors' likeness and deposits a unique fish into a virtual 3D fish-tank. The fish can then be instructed to perform actions using a simple text-messaging service.
Consisting of four main parts Aquaroom captured participants likeness using a web camera, displayed a 3D environment and animated 3D fish onto a large projection screen inside a room, captured both video and sound from a smaller synched fishtank outside the room, and also allowed interaction from participants using a simple text-messaging service.
Aquaroom was an innovative experiment in providing the perspective of a domestic fish to viewers, while also simultaneously providing the more traditional viewpoint of looking upon a fish-tank. Participants were treated to a fish-tank full of fish that they could watch and play with using text-messages in a room designed to recreate the feeling of being underwater.
Interactive Forest
Using only the motion of their hands and bodies visitors are encouraged to control the life and death of virtual forest.
Using strong and playful 2D visuals the Interactive Forest recreated a simple circle of life. When participants wave their hands wind is created which helps create clouds which rain once dense enough. This rain allows trees to grow, swaying in the wind created by participants motion. Alternatively, if the exhibit was left for long enough the clouds would dissipate, and the sun would dry up the Earth killing the trees until more rain was created.
The Interactive Forest was an enjoyable way to interact with an interesting environment while also acting as a commentary on how much of an impact we, as humans, truly do have on our forests. This was displayed publicly at the Mercury Lounge in Ottawa, ON.
Interactive Music Visualizer
Using movement captured by a camera, and sound captured by a microphone, virtual particle streams move and pulsate to the beat of music and motion.
This Music Visualizer was created as a visual accompaniment to a cellist in Orangeville, Ontario; and was also re-tooled to work as a 3-screen projection for a video jockey event at the Babylon Night Club in Ottawa.
Using advanced camera tracking and sound analysis algorithms this visualizer provides a way for participants to literally visualize sound, while also being able to contribute to the vivid visuals through the use of their own body motion.
With so many possibilities there are many tools we use. For creation we often find ourselves using programming languages such as C++ and OpenGL, as well as helper frameworks such as Cinder and Openframeworks for speed and flexibility. For both 2D and 3D graphical assets we use software such as Photoshop, Painter, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere, and Maya.
For the installations we commonly use projectors and other traditional displays such as monitors or televisions, as well as surround sound systems. We also turn to Arduino and other custom hardware and installation solutions for more creative and innovative approaches.