Cinematic AR Experience for Fox Shows in Madrid

Fox International Channels aimed to promote the highly anticipated season premieres of several popular TV shows, including The Walking Dead, Homeland, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Sleepy Hollow. To achieve this, they sought to create the largest and most film-like augmented reality (AR) experience ever produced.

In a groundbreaking initiative in downtown Madrid, Fox International Channels and Wildbytes orchestrated an immersive, cinematic AR experience that allowed hundreds of people to step into the worlds of these television series. Through advanced AR technology and visual effects, fictional characters from the shows appeared as if they were physically present among the audience.

The project involved the creation of four distinct AR micro-episodes, each designed to capture the essence of one of the featured shows. Viewers were surrounded by zombies from The Walking Dead, became part of a covert mission from Homeland, witnessed supernatural events from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and experienced eerie occurrences from Sleepy Hollow.

Rather than simply integrating virtual elements into the real world, this project flipped the typical AR concept by immersing people into film-like scenes where they interacted with fictional characters. Wildbytes developed a unique technique for this experience by analyzing and replicating the original camera movements from the TV shows’ footage. This process allowed live cameras to mirror the cinematic effects in real time, creating a seamless connection between the virtual and real worlds.

An innovative application of the rotoscoping technique was used, where over 6,000 frames were traced to incorporate characters from the shows into the live feed. The technical setup included real-time color correction to match the shows’ aesthetics, a 5.1 surround sound system throughout the square, and comprehensive 3D VFX to transform the environment and transport viewers into the narrative worlds of the series.

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