AUSTIN, Texas -- Imagine seeing an angry Dumbo in a movie poster when you are peeved but a happy one when you are in a good mood.
That's the premise behind an interactive poster that supposedly reads emotions and promotes the movie based on how you are feeling.
It’s a concept developed by Walt Disney Studios and its partner Accenture Interactive as part of StudioLab, an initiative to enhance the art of storytelling with new technologies. The interactive poster, which debuted during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival, uses facial recognition software.
“From your eyebrows for surprise or your smile for joy, it reads that emotion that you’re showing, and what we do is we respond to you with scenes from the movie that really reflect the emotion that you’re portraying,” said Patrick Kennedy, digital transformation lead for media and entertainment at Accenture Interactive.
Disney and Accenture refused to say how much the posters cost or where or when they will be available.
"Interactive Movie Poster" uses facial recognition technology to feature scenes of a movie that correspond with a person's emotions. (Fox News)
At the SXSW conference recently, People lined up to the booth to experience a prototype of the product, which featured the live-action remake of Dumbo. They would look at a “mirror,” which essentially was a screen with a small camera on the side. Some smiled, and the technology recognized looks of happiness. They then saw on the screen a movie that featured scenes embodying that emotion. Those who frowned saw movie scenes with moments of anger.
“It’s pretty cool having that interaction with the poster,” said visitor Alyssa Carlos.
Kennedy hopes the technology would ultimately entice more people to head to the movies.
“We hope that when people go to the movies, they’ll see a movie poster for the next film and have a way to interact and really create that bond before that movie comes out. We think this is an opportunity to encourage people to come back to the cinema to have those deeper experiences,” Kennedy said.
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"Interactive Movie Poster" featured the live-action remake of Dumbo during SXSW. This trailer features a happy scene after recognizing a person's feelings of joy. (Fox News)
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The Dumbo demo wasn’t the only product that Disney and Accenture showcased during SXSW. They also had a booth showing how photogrammetry can dramatically decrease the time it takes to scout for TV and movie locations. It uses drone, 3D, and photogrammetry technology to map and model potential sets.
“Essentially, it’s allowing [a] location to be brought back to Hollywood so the director can interact with this on an iPad through this application, plant a camera on the scene, and look, oh, what does that look on my lens before I ever go there?” said Kennedy.
He said the technology helps cut the time it takes to find a movie location.
"Photogrammetry as a Service" cuts down the process of finding a movie location from months to weeks. (Fox News)
“We’re doing in less than an hour something that used to take three weeks to create one model,” Kennedy said.
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He eventually wants to create a library of filming locations that others can rely on in the future, which would also decrease production costs.
The photogrammetry and interactive movie posters are still in development and will move to the next phase of development later this year.
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