'X-Men' Invade Hollywood In 3D Mapping

X-MEN--First-Class

When Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment releases "X-Men: First Class" on DVD next week, Pearl Media will display a 3D projection mapping image in Hollywood to celebrate the movie's debut on a disk.

The image, which looks like a hologram, will appear at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel where the mutants from the "X-Men" movie will appear larger than life.

The 3D projection turns the side of a building into a movie screen. The technology appears to make solid structures change shape and reveal images that are not really there, such as water flowing from windows or cars emerging from within the walls. It has been around for a couple of years, but is now catching on in promotions.

Pearl Media takes laser measurements of a building to get a realistic view before creating a 3D image of the façade. Animation becomes an overlay. Software renders both pieces together. When complete, a "high-powered projector" projects the image on the building, explains Joshua Cohen, Pearl Media's president.

The 'X-Men' 3D projection mapping portion of the campaign ties into online media from Twitter to Foursquare to mobile. A QR code on the building and on handouts given to passersby will provide access to perks that fans can download online. Links related to the movie and DVD will prompt special offers.

The campaign collects consumer data for all aspects of the campaign, except for photographs posted online of the 3D hologram on the Roosevelt Hotel.

Pearl Media has not been able to track the number of photographs or videos taken with camera phones posted online and shared among friends and social networks. The viral nature of sharing a photograph or video extends the reach of the campaign, Cohen said.

Advertising for home entertainment across Google platforms began to increase recently, and the fourth quarter looks promising, according to Adam Stewart, industry director of media and entertainment at Google. "Most entertainment marketers work across products and platforms through sight, sound and motion," he said.

For Pearl Media, QR codes used to provide consumers with special offers have become popular. An April 22 event for Lexus garnered 450,000 views to data online for the campaign. In July at Comic Con, a similar campaign to launch a video game during a two-day local event did equally well.

"What makes these campaigns so successful is being able to tie in all the social media aspects," Cohen said, confirming that online media connects national with local campaigns.

 

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