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Meet our new Creative Director

Solarflare Studio — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 15:33:49 +0000

HELEN BELLRINGER JOINS AS CREATIVE DIRECTOR FROM MELODYVR

Solarflare Studio are pleased to announce that Helen Bellringer has joined the team as Creative Director, signifying a throttle shift in our dynamic growth. This key addition comes at a time when creativity has never been more important, and Helen’s visionary imagination galvanises the innovative solutions we have to offer clients in these uncertain times.

Helen has been working in the creative intersection between music and technology, using her superlative approach to build connections between brands and fans for just under a decade. Her client list includes the likes of Universal Music Group, Viacom, Warner Music Group, AMC Networks and Selfridges stores, to name but a few.

Want to explore the possibilities of new technologies? Get in touch to explore ideas.

She joins us from MelodyVR where as Creative Lead she developed their original storytelling series, launching the first Open/R with international artist, Lewis Capaldi. Her varied experience fortifies our creative offering, with her skillset bridging the gaps between complex technical proposals, A-list talent direction and immersive storytelling. On joining the team at Solarflare, Helen says: “Solarflare studio is home to an extremely talented collection of people working across an unbelievable range of emerging technologies. Being in a position to harness this powerhouse is incredibly inspiring, I feel privileged to join a team of humans who are pushing the boundaries of how we interact and connect with each other in the digital world”. Solarflare Studio is now into its seventh month and has already been privileged to work with a number of leading agencies and brands such as ASICS, NatWest, WaterAid,Edelman and One Rise East. We are constantly evolving as a company and our positioning as being technology-agnostic whilst combining both deep technical expertise with bold ideas will hopefully mean that we continue to grow and can help our clients through this confusing period.

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We’re always looking to expand our network of creative collaborators, from technical specialists to people that work in more traditional art forms. LAUNCH exists to blend the barriers between creative practices and new tech. Get in touch to explore ideas.

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Dimenco’s 3D Screen

Solarflare Studio — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 11:56:46 +0000

new technology excites us.

If you’ve been following us, you’ll know we’re testing out hardware from home, weighing up the pros, cons and best uses.

3D screens have been around for a while now, each with varying in commercial success. We’ve been curious to see who’ll create “the screen” that changes the game for everyone. The exciting news is, it might just be here.

Dimenco kindly sent us their Simulated Reality (SR) 3D screen to test out. Unlike other iterations of 3D screens, it requires no glasses, no additional accessories, and is the perfect solution for a contactless experience.

By turning worlds, event launches, and applications — digital, the team has successfully intersected the latest frontier technologies in a variety of sectors. Through nothing but collaboration, we’ve tested, built, and delivered bespoke experiences that stand out in a world of over-saturated content, all while educating our clients along the way.

Want to explore the possibilities of new technologies? Get in touch to explore ideas.

first impressions of the “world’s most advanced 3d display technology”.

The system comes complete, including a powerful workstation, hand tracking, spatial audio and of course the 32” 8k auto stereoscopic display. It’s pretty impressive. The 3D is created by a lenticular lens over the screen, this directs light from specific pixels to your left and right eyes allowing them to see slightly different images.

First impressions are great, sitting in front of the screen the content just leaps out. The built-in eye-tracking perfectly positions the 3D for the user and allows you to ‘look around’ the content by leaning slightly left and right. The sensation is stunningly realistic and natural. The attention-grabbing nature of 3D screens is a great draw. We’re fascinated by the way the images float out of the screen, which will most likely increase dwell times and engagement with the viewer.

The only limitation is that only one person can really view the 3D imagery at a time, which can also be seen as an advantage for personalised , or technical content.

The SR screen works well for any content that benefits from being viewed in 3D. Complex engineering, architecture, medical, etc. It makes a great point of sale experience for showcasing products, especially if they benefit from interactivity in some way like product customisation. Real world uses for customised clothing, footwear, interior decor, car options would all benefit the consumer experience, showcasing an end product in a more tangible, sharp 3D form.

One nice feature, especially in these times, is the screen can be enjoyed completely hands-free, unlike VR and AR headsets which have hygiene issues because they need to be worn.

Dimenco is looking to build the SR technology into a range of screens from laptops to mobiles, for now, there’s the opportunity to create standout first of their kind experiences using the 32” SR screen. We are looking forward to incorporating this into our projects in the near future.

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Sensory experiences through sound

Solarflare Studio — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:45:10 +0000

let's start with sonic branding

Sonic branding is the strategic application of sound and music to a brand to help form an identity. It’s a vital part of a consumer’s sensory experience, as sound, and music in particular, has a direct cognitive link to our memories. This means multi-sensory experiences with strategically applied sound can have lasting effects on memory and association. When approaching sound for digital and immersive experiences, we think about the sonic strategy being broken down into two elements, the sonic palette and the sonic landscape.

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SONIC Palette

Similar to a colour palette, where complimentary colours are combined visually – a sound palette is a suite of sounds and tones that work together, usually coming from a homogenous family of sources. For example, the sonic palette could be comprised of all natural sounds like recorded wooden percussion, or all digital sounds, generated entirely using computers. Using a tight sonic palette for a digital experience makes you feel more immersed in a subtle way, as the sounds work together to create a frictionless listening experience.

SONIC landscape

The sonic landscape is everything you can hear within an experience, from the ambient soundtrack, to the UI and interactive sounds. The landscape should be a harmonious blend of background sounds that create the mood and tone of the experience, and the UI sounds that give the user important feedback for signposting, or rewards. For example, in our upcoming road safety series for RSA, directional sound helps you navigate between areas and supports visual cues.

sound allows you to create culture, not just follow it

Strategic sound and sonic branding differentiates experiences. It’s a crucial part element of effective, emotive storytelling. For example have you ever watched a thriller or a horror movie without the sound? – it just doesn’t work. The heightened adrenaline response we have to sound makes a vital tool in creating visceral, memorable experiences.

It’s equally as important as a brand’s visual output, and it’s for brand guidelines to be evolving to include audible guidelines. Typically the furthest brands go is to licence a well-known commercial song, but it’s an easy-win to associate with culture, to use nostalgic references but creating culture with sound – that’s a heavily neglected space.

where do you start exploring the sonic direction of an experience?

Firstly understanding where sound can be applied, and its role in providing encouragement, reward and much needed sign posting for their experience.

Several large brands have a very clear, consistent sound for example: McDonalds, Dyson & Skype but this isn’t for the select few. SMEs without the same resources can still define themselves sonically.

a sonic toolkit includes:

A sonic logo
A guideline for accents/tone for videos that have VO
Soundscapes (your palette and landscape)
UX sounds
Music

We consistently work with sound designers to build in a sonic strategy for our immersive experiences. Developing reusable, universal sonic assets.
Certain sounds have an association to rewards which makes it interesting to build in, for more gamified experiences.

How we use sound in design: Natural > Digital Sounds

Sound is considered early on in our design process. We ask ourselves, where do we need application, and what can we do to create a full immersion for the viewer/audience? Creative Directors need to be able to think sonically and it’s often why VR, or digital experiences fall flat.

For example; when working on the digital sanctuary for Helsinki Fashion Week, (see clip above) we worked closely with The Mono Company to create a natural calming environment. The sound helped the digitally rendered space become more believable and immersive.

Even our virtual office has a consistent stereo playing in the background, to reflect the sounds of our real life office. Background noise makes it less jarring to the ears, our brains don’t enjoy silence as we’re constantly looking for stimulating feedback to feel safe and comfortable.

We design the majority of our experiences with spatial audio, mimicking real life to be able to trick your mind into believing the environment is real. Unnatural sounds, make you start to disassociate and can make an experience feel flat. We link our visual output with audio to create a more naturalistic space.
Ultimately, good sound is un-distracting and beds into the experience in an almost imperceptible way, meaning brand messaging comes across more clearly as the users attention is on what they’re doing and seeing. Sonic strategy is a secret weapon that brands can harness to make their immersive experiences more impactful, which is why we approach all of our projects with sound in mind.

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