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With the Christmas DVD release of TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, STAR TREK and G.I. JOE, we have been busy developing Augmented Reality (AR) experiences for each title. As frequent readers of this blog will know, we have already produced AR content for their cinema releases so it was essential that the updated versions improved on the three very popular experiences.

TRANSFORMERS II now lets you control Optimus Prime in a battle simulation against Decepticon targets – but only after you have completed the tasks necessary to return Optimus to battle ready status. You can now see a full model of Optimus as well as examine his main weapons.

Check out the below video for a preview of the experience and check back in the next week or so for more info on the Star Trek and G.I. JOE experiences still in production.

STAR TREK has been divided into three separate AR experiences: A condensed version of the tour with emphasis on firing the weapons and Warp engines. A wonderfully simple flying game where you launch the Enterprise into the room and watch it fly around your head and a 3rd person navigation exercise where you can test your reactions as you negotiate your way through asteroids and laser fire.

G.I. JOE was always going to be a desktop fighting game – the perfect fit for a title of such palatable aggression and action sequences. As with all our Paramount AR developments we used 3D models from either the film or the official game to deliver the best possible experience. For this game the challenge is simple (even if its execution takes some practice) – choose to fight as Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow then battle your sworn enemies…

Augmented Reality encourages the users to interact with the product in a way which they previously could not. It changes the relationship consumers have with packaging; previously it could be seen as a means to an end, simply a way of protecting and delivering the product. However in using the packaging to launch official, original content we can raise the value of what is being purchased to a much higher level.

Click on any of the images above to check out the individual experiences

Earlier this year we developed one of the first ‘augmented reality’ (AR) applications to be used as part of a major theatrical film marketing campaign. Experience The Enterprise used AR to deliver a virtual tour of the Starship Enterprise in the palm of your hand.

Those forward thinking guys at Paramount were so impressed with the application; they want buyers of the DVD and Blu-Ray to join the party too.

As Variety is reporting this morning, Paramount Home Entertainment’s “Star Trek” DVD and Blu-ray release is about to again boldly go where no one has gone before.

“With the packaging feature dubbed “augmented reality,” consumers will be able to hold their disc packaging in front of any standard webcam to unlock an interactive hologram on the computer screen, through which they can tour five cabins on the Enterprise, even shooting enemies from the ship’s deck.”

Users will have to log in to a website to access the feature, but they control the hologram by holding the disc packaging.

“If you took the visual cue in the package and turned your hand, then you’re turning the ship,” Paramount Home Video senior VP of brand marketing Bob Buchi said.”

We are really pleased to be working with Paramount Home Entertainment to deliver this experience and that our original application is able to have a life beyond Star Trek’s theatrical window.

Variety’s article has gone on to be picked up on some pretty substantial sites today including The Guardian,
ComingSoon, Trekmovie and i09.

With Star Trek docking today in cinemas worldwide, I figured it’s time for a round-up of our work on the international online campaign.

EXPERIENCE THE ENTERPRISE

Of everything we’ve put together for Star Trek, probably the stand-out piece of work is this augmented reality version of the Starship Enterprise:

From the official press release:

Visitors to www.experience-the-enterprise.com have the opportunity to take an extensive five minute tour of the Enterprise, including testing the ship’s weapons systems, impulse engines and warp drive.

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Continuing on from our post on Saturday, here is a round-up of our adventures in Sydney over the past few days….

It was great Paramount gave us creative freedom to try something never done before. As mentioned they allowed us to send two bloggers over to Sydney, gave us access to the red carpet and allowed us to ask crowd-sourced questions through Twitter and then stream everything we could shoot onto the web through a relatively unknown up and coming video blogging community. 

So on Saturday evening, we jetted off to Oz to meet up with Kosso, the founder of video community, Phreadz, with the hope getting to interview JJ Abrams, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the rest of the fresh young crew of the Starship Enterprise. We also had a team running things from London, ensuring we got the best outreach of the campaign on Twitter and amongst the Star Trek community.

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We’re going to be spending the next few days bringing live interactive coverage of the STAR TREK global premiere to fans all over the world using social media including Twitter, Ustream, Flickr and Phreadz.

The premiere is taking place on Tuesday April 7th at the Sydney Opera House. We will have a team of bloggers using the latest mobile technology to bring the event to life online, with a fan-submitted Q&A at the press junket and a live webcast from the heart of the red carpet.

Fans are invited to submit questions for film-makers including director JJ Abrams and cast members Eric Bana, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto via Twitter using an #asktrek hashtag.

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