Digital Humans
Client
Digital Impact
OFFF
Creative Partners
Agencia Letraherida
Studio Juanita’s
Angel Sound Studio
Services
Digital Avatars
Experiential
Creative Direction
Year
2023
We have created four interactive Digital Avatars for Digital Impact, the largest digital exhibition in Spain up to date.
The Project
Under the direction of OFFF Festival, Digital Impact stands as the biggest digital art exhibition ever made in Spain. From April to August of 2023, this groundbreaking event will take center stage at Disseny Hub Barcelona's exhibition area, showcasing exceptional works by leading global artists within the discipline.
Among the esteemed lineup, the team behind Digital Impact approached us with an exciting opportunity: to contribute to the exhibition by crafting a digital art piece that would serve as an interactive focal point for attendees. This endeavor resulted in the creation of 'Digital Humans’.
Featuring four distinct digital avatars, 'Digital Humans' is an engaging installation that explores the interactive potential of digital art. This project aims to captivate visitors and foster reflective dialogues about fundamental concepts and challenges in the realm of digital art and technology.
The Experience
Positioned strategically throughout the exhibition, our 'Digital Humans' serve as interactive stations where attendees can engage in meaningful conversations with a series of digital avatars. These characters provoke thoughts and contemplation on the essential questions and challenges presented by the world of digital art and technology.
The experience commences with our digital host Noa, who welcomes attendees and provides a detailed explanation of the underlying concept behind 'Digital Impact.' Once inside, visitors encounter three more avatars distributed across the venue, inviting them to initiate conversations and explore different perspectives within this discipline.
Throughout the experience, these lifelike avatars pose thought-provoking questions, encouraging attendees to respond with a simple 'YES' or 'NO' using buttons in front of each avatar's screen. Depending on the attendees' responses, the conversations evolve, demonstrating the insightful perspectives of these digital beings.
“LKM’s work puts us in an active position in front of the current conversation about digitization and creativity. Each Digital Human has been created to accompany, reflect, and above all, to make those attending Digital Impact question how we face new forms of creation and human relationships. It is the piece that humanizes the exhibition's journey, despite being the most intense digital native work of the Digital Impact collection”
Pep Salazar - Digital Impact / OFFF Director
Our Work
Overview
Conceptualization and character creation.
Scriptwriting and interaction flow.
Voice-over recording.
Face and mouth animation.
Facial animation capture.
UI design and implementation.
Programming and optimization.
Character Creation
Crafted with the powerful combination of MetaHuman Creator and Unreal Engine 5, each avatar in 'Digital Humans' possesses a unique personality and traits, providing diverse perspectives on the intersection of artistry and evolving technology. Working alongside Agencia Letraherida, a skilled copywriting agency, we infused depth and authenticity into each character through carefully crafted scripts and dialogues.
To enhance realism, we collaborated with renowned voice actors Pere Arquillué and Míriam Monlleó, amongst others, providing our avatars with captivating voices and personalities.
The scripts also serve as the foundation for the level design of the experience in Unreal Engine 5, enabling an immersive conversational experience where attendee responses shape the avatars' reactions. The dynamic interplay between attendee input and avatar responses adds excitement and unpredictability, enhancing the immersive conversational journey.
Technical Development
1. Face & Mouth Animation:
Unlocking Expressive Communication
At the core of 'Digital Humans' is the detailed creation of visemes, crucial for lifelike mouth animation. Through precise analysis of audio, advanced algorithms translate speech nuances into visual cues. This technique allows avatars to synchronize mouth movements with spoken words, amplifying emotional expression and creating an immersive experience for participants.
2. Facial Animation Capture:
Infusing Authenticity and Emotion
Utilizing advanced techniques, we capture authentic facial animations. Precisely tracking expressions and movements, every nuance is captured with precision. The avatars come alive, conveying a wide range of emotions and deeply engaging participants.
3. Programming and Packaging: Crafting an Interactive Journey
In the final stage of the 'Digital Humans' project, we program and package the installation. Through coding and technical expertise, we enable engaging dialogues and shape interactions. The cohesive and captivating experience is woven together, showcasing the transformative power of digital innovation in interactive art.
Press
Credits
Felix M. Dowell – Project Director
Sebastián Soriano – Creative Director
Aleksandra Stepanovic – Project Manager
Xavi Maixenchs – Technical Director & Lead Developer
David Mallén – Animation & Project Developer
Gerard Valls Montaño – Hardware & Electronics Design
Miquel Martínez – UI Developer
studio juanita’s – Hardware Production
Agencia Letraherida – Scriptwriting
Xavi García - Photography
Álvaro de la Rosa - Filmmaking
Voice Actors
NOA – Míriam Monlleó
EVA – Dolors Sans
CARLOS – Pere Arquillué
JOEL – Mario Blasco
Angel Sound Studio – Recording and Editing
