With the boundaries between film production and interactive blurring, DesignAxiom recently found itself working on a couple of projects for the film industry in Toronto. In the spring of 2011 we completed a new site for David Brady Productions and their documentary series regarding the Rock & Roll era of Yonge Street during the 1950s and 60s: www.yongestreet.tv
Our project manager, Cherie Oldenburg remembers the initial meeting with the client. “They (David Brady Productions) wanted a strong and differentiated online companion for their production.” David Ghent, DesignAxiom’s creative director describes the purpose of the site as being “a permanent installation for the material, a sort of living museum of interactive content.” The site was to provide viewers with an even closer look into the stories and lives of the artists during this time. And also add an element of social interaction and audience contribution.
With a significant amount of historical content available to our developers, including vintage pictures, videos and audio, the intention was to build a website that lets the audience feel as though they are experiencing life during this extraordinary era. David explained that the use of animation and an immersive experience was crucial to creating the sense of “being there.”
Along those lines, Tom George, our principal consultant and president, was intrigued by a TED talk given by the Microsoft Photosynth team: a “street view” of Pike’s Place Market in Seattle that could travel back and forth through time. Since the technology wasn’t available to use, he challenged the DesignAxiom development team to create an experience that could deliver the same engaging impact.
Jamie Klapwyk, considered DesignAxiom’s 3D guru, was given the task of figuring it out. The technique Jamie developed turned out to be one part inspiration and mostly painstaking perspiration. He described it as being a “design by development” process, something the team normally avoids.
“It took a fair amount of work before we got something we liked,” according to technical lead, Kyle Brooks. And the result was “The Locations”–a 3D engine that lets the audience have a panoramic look around various historic locations on Yonge Street. Kyle considers the interactive locations as being the best part of the website because, “they have the ability to stir up memories for people who were a part of the scene.” And they incorporate vintage photography to let the audience travel back and forth in time, then and now, all in 3D.
In addition, we developed an interactive 3D map of Yonge Street. It includes stops at various clubs and bars along the infamous strip where some of the most notable artists began their careers. It also allows viewers the ability to click on the desired location and venture inside the selected building to explore bonus content.
And the interactive locations and map are just one part of this multi-facetted documentary site.
Tom emphasizes the iterative nature of design, and development, for this project. “We kept meeting and revising the ideas until we liked what we had. Brendan Brady (the interactive producer) was a great client because he was kind of fearless.” He adds, “We normally don’t like to iterate during development, but in this case, a lot of the work was experimental. We were trying to see how far we could push the immersive experience. Sometimes we’d hit roadblocks, so we’d have to improvise on the spot. In the end, I think it turned out really well.”
The website is not only a showpiece for DesignAxiom’s creative and technical talent, it also provides a unique immersion for those interested in learning more about Toronto’s unique musical history.
