Moving Image

Bastion Shine 27 Spur Satellite Perceptual Engineering Buildmedia 3 Spark 5G Race Zone

2021 Interactive
Credits
  • Pou Auaha / Creative Directors
    Adam Jenkins - Executive Producer, Mick McConnell - Executive Creative Director, Rich Maddocks - Chief Creative Director
  • Ringatoi Matua / Design Director
    Danny Carlsen
  • Ngā Kaimahi / Team Members
    Shine—, Mike Ramsey, Kate Gilmour, Annabelle Pitkin, Adeline Marteil, James O’Connor, Spur—, Alistair Beckermann, Sam Darby, Justin Beckermann, Hao Tin Lin, Harriet Boyce, Satellite—, Nick Lowe, Darren Wood, Lauren Walsh, Dave Cooper, Rachel Worth, Matt Visser, Nico Caracciolo, Alice Cooper, Perceptual Engineering—, Jon Baxter, Puck Murphy, Olivier Jean, Cam Ballantyne, Taylor Hewetson, Buildmedia—, Gareth Ross, Tim Johnson, Vincent Vulliez, Jason Wong, James Hall, Alice Li, Matthew Atkinson, Isaac Gilich, Alex Coultas, Christopher Rahts, Novii—, Gray Borrell, India Thorp, Max Borrell, Ben Kamp, Joe Dawson
  • Kaitautoko / Contributors
    Emirates Team New Zealand, NIWA, Retail Dimensions, Digital Signage Solutions, Impact Interiors, Steve Boniface, Jono Parker, Supernormal, Angus Muir, Jeff Lau
  • Client
    Spark
Judge's comments:

The Spark 5G Race Zone was seen as a real achievement in cohesive interactive storytelling across multiple digital executions. From creating a full ‘simulation’ game to being able to design your own America's Cup yacht - the zone as a whole was an engaging and entertaining experience for all ages.

Description:

Spark’s sponsorship of Emirates Team New Zealand presented the perfect platform to launch and show the Spark 5G network in action, whilst leveraging the nationwide momentum in rallying behind our team.

Spark 5G was able to make a tangible difference to New Zealand’s defence of the America’s Cup by deploying 5G on the Waitematā to stream thousands of real-time data points from their test boat straight to the design team, securing the most precious commodity in the America’s Cup – time.

This partnership also delivered on the challenge of making 5G real to New Zealanders. In collaboration with the engineers, agencies, designers and ETNZ crew, we built Spark 5G Race Zone – an immersive, multi-sensory experience that got New Zealanders closer to the America’s Cup than ever before.

Comprising seven different zones, people could feel, create and learn about 5G in the context of one of our national sports – sailing. The various experiences and simulators brought to life the different benefits of 5G – speed, low latency and mass connectivity, intersecting with sailing knowledge like tides, wind, foiling, boat design and getting to know the team members.

On entry guests were given an RFID lanyard, their passport to collect an array of personalised digital souvenirs from different interactive experiences.

Wind Tunnel rendered interactive projections on the walls using real-time wind data with millions of variations. Then through clever programming and motion capture, it responded to guests’ movements and input.

Course Selection projected the race course of the day, overlaid with real time wind, current and tide data as stylised graphics flowing over the harbour.

AC 75 Simulator was built on the team’s actual simulator, a huge physics engine, and re skinned the models and environment with gaming level Unreal graphics. Then we put our guests at the helm.

5G Portal synced hundreds of 5G-enabled devices to feel the pulse of news and social media hype around every race, letting people share their insider stories from team HQ.

Meet the Team screens enabled immediate AR selfies with the legends of Emirates Team New Zealand or the Auld Mug itself.

Boat Builder lets visitors test thousands of variables to create and test their own America’s Cup craft on individual tablets. Their sea-worthiness was analysed against real world conditions and the same formulas used to optimise an AC75.

Te Aihe is an immersive 4D flight across the Waitematā aboard an AC75 yacht. The multi-sensory experience incorporates a 13 metre wraparound screen with 360 degree footage rendered onto the semi-circle to make it feel like you’re on the water.

Never before had the public got so close to the tech the team used, and so much of the experience been realised visually in such diverse ways.

Each of the seven unique experiences was integrated into a fluid journey, introducing the visitor to the forces of nature at work and simplifying the complex sailing tech, to create an informative, immersive media rich experience.