Research Proposal

My idea for my Emerging Technology project is to create a 3D billboard AR experience with the purpose of promoting the heritage and culture of the city of Hull. The aim of my project is to promote key points of interest in the city such as The Deep, Museum Quater and other intriguing areas within the city. Through this project, I hope to attract more tourists and general interest in Hull and its history and culture.

3D billboards are a good way for companies to market their products as it gives the viewer a better look at the product. They are more eye catching than 2D billboards because 3D billboards make it look like the product is popping out of the billboard, making more people look at what is happening, and allowing them to see the full product design.

3D billboards are a unique and innovative way for companies to market their products as they are eye-catching and engaging. Unlike regular 2D billboards, 3D billboards create a sense of depth and immersion through layering, perspective, animation and lighting to make it seem as if the elements are jumping out at the viewer. 3D billboards catch a lot of attention and often get shared on social media as a result. For example, a 3D billboard in Tokyo gained lots of online attention because of the impressive use of technology. The screen is 155 square feet in size and is very hard to miss.

“The brain processes this binocular disparity to perceive depth and create a three-dimensional experience. 3D billboards capitalize on this concept to create a convincing sense of depth. The images come to life by combining two separate images taken from different angles. This technique tricks our brains into perceiving objects in the display as if they’re jumping out of the screen. It’s a visual effect commonly known as forced perspective.” (Gavrilova, 2023)

What makes a 3D billboard effective is how they can bring a story to life with complex animations, unlike a 2D billboard using a static image. Characters and objects appear to be coming out of the billboard and interacting with the world around them, making them stand out much more. These billboards are often found in major cities such as Tokyo, New York and Dubai, which are all known for been ‘modern’ and trendy cities to visit. These billboards enhance the feeling of these technologically advanced cities and draw more interest, which is something I’d like to do for Hull by reviving its image and pushing it towards a trendier and more modern feeling.

“3D ads stand out from the crowd, making them easier for viewers to remember. This has a positive effect on brand awareness, with one study showing that 3D billboards achieve greater attention, ad recall and ad recognition than traditional billboards”. (Clear Channel, nd)

3D billboards are memorable and lots of companies are starting to utilize them to market their products in unique and creative ways. Companies such as Nike, WhatsApp and Activision are just some of the big names to have used 3D billboards to advertise their products. One example is from 2022, when Activision created an advertisement on a 3D billboard in London to promote their new Call of Duty game. The advert showed a character smashing through the glass before reaching out to rip the wires from the billboard before cutting to black to reveal a soldier who comes out of the screen before the Call of Duty logo appears. This is an effective example because it tells a story and uses clever perspectives and visuals as well as sound effects to immerse the viewer.

Nike also used a 3D billboard to celebrate their 35th anniversary of their Air Max trainer in Japan. They used this to show off different types of trainers throughout the years, with interesting transitions and graphics. Doing this gave Nike a boost in sales showing that the 3D billboard was effective and convinced viewers to purchase from Nike (Fatima, 2023).

3D billboards use anamorphism to create an optical illusion which makes the billboards appear to be 3D when they are technically not. This is why most 3D billboards are placed very high up compared to the viewer, as the angles make the viewer perceive it as three dimensional due to perspective tricks.

“Anamorphic (3D) billboards employ an optical illusion technique called anamorphosis, crafting distorted images that seamlessly align into clarity from specific viewpoints, captivating audiences with their visually striking effects. Leveraging high-traffic areas like city streets and public squares, these billboards offer advertisers a unique and attention-grabbing platform to create memorable campaigns. ” (Priority, 2024)

My target audience for this project will be tourists who are visiting Hull for the first time and would maybe like to know the best places to visit in the city, businesses and business owners who are looking to advertise their companies in interesting ways, and the council who would maybe want to promote the city and add a modernized feeling and appeal for visitors and people who live in the city. I have considered each of my target audiences’ needs and wants from a 3D billboard, and came up with solutions on how I will provide these for them.

User: Tourist visiting Hull for the first time

User Needs: ‘It is my first ever time visiting Hull. I would like to see what the best attractions and activities around the city are so I can make fun memories and make the most out of my visit.’

Solution: The billboards will be informative on interesting places around the city, using graphics and storytelling to attract tourists and visitors to these places.

User: Business Owners

User Needs: ‘I am the owner of a museum based in Hull. I am looking for new and fresh ways that I can promote the latest exhibit.’

Solution: The billboards offer a trendy and innovative way for businesses to promote their companies. They also allow businesses to get creative with the storytelling of their advertisements and can attract a wider audience.’

User: The Council

User Needs: ‘I am the head of Hull City Council, and we are searching for ways to push the city towards a more modern feeling to compete with cities like Leeds and York. We want something exciting for both residents and tourists.’

Solution: 3D billboards are a great way to modernize a city and make it feel more advanced. You can also use them to engage and interact with the public, making them memorable and exciting for both residents and visitors.

To create my 3D billboard, I will use Blender to create the animations and a mixture of my own 3D assets and downloaded ones to create narratives, I will use free sound effects downloaded online to add into the billboards too. I will also create a QR code which can be scanned at the end of the animation to take users to the websites for the attractions so they can find out more information and buy tickets.

I have made a rough storyboard to plan a 3D billboard animation for The Deep. It begins by showing The Deep building and then zooms out slightly to reveal that it is a miniature model placed inside a fish tank, then a shark passes by, covering The Deep and creating a transition as it passes by. Then there will be The Deep logo that pops up, once this has happened the shark will swim past again creating the same effect as before. Then text with show again, this time saying, “Book tickets now” and a QR code which viewers can scan their phones with to go to their website and find out more information and buy tickets.

“While visuals captivate the eyes, sound design adds a layer of richness that resonates with emotions, enhances storytelling, and elevates the viewer’s engagement.” (Sea Studio, 2024)

For sound, I am going to add some aquatic music in the background, then the sound will become muffled as if underwater and a swooshing noise will be made when the shark passes by. Sound adds more enhanced senses to the animation and will make the experience more believable and convincing.

For my 3D billboard, I have to think about ethical considerations and potential issues.

The biggest issue is the technology itself, as technology can be unreliable at times and this could lead to some issues with the display of the billboard, which runs off LED panels and monitors. Speakers may also become damaged, and this could affect the sound quality. Other factors such as weather and the elements could potentially damage the billboard too, as well as vandalism from the public. Rain could damage the wiring or electrical systems and lead to dangerous situations, and bright sunshine may make it harder to see the screen. It is important to consider how to protect the screens from the elements and to consider the location and design of the billboard in advance.

The cost to repair this could be very high and may be an issue for local council who may only have a set budget. Additionally, the cost of electricity could be an issue too as these screens would likely need a lot of power to work properly. A fix for this could be to install solar panels which power the billboard, which would also be much more sustainable and eco-friendlier.

The billboard may also be quite distracting, particularly for road users. Location is important to consider because it could be dangerous to place a 3D billboard in an area with high volumes of traffic, as it could become a public safety hazard.

“But a billboard in an already cluttered and busy road environment with multiple dangers (junctions, pedestrians, cyclists, etc), simply increases the cognitive load your brain must endure, lengthening your reaction times to dangerous situations. New digital billboards are even more distracting as our eyes are attracted to moving images much more readily than static images. Digital billboards are also more visible at night.” (Cottingham, nd)

Additionally, due to the bright LED screens, visibility for road users could be affected at night, leading drivers to become dazzled and unable to see, which may lead to accidents and injuries.

Luckily, many of these won’t be an issue for my project as I will be creating a render to display the 3D billboard in-situ rather than it being displayed out in the real world. However, these are still important to consider in case I ever were to create a live 3D billboard.

Digitally, I will still have to make considerations for things such as render times and project management. If I want a more realistic looking advertisement, I will have to use Cycles to render out the final product, meaning it will take a lot longer than rendering in EEVEE. Because of this, I will have to manage my time wisely and leave enough time to render and add in effects post-production such as sound.

To manage the time scale of this project, I have made a Trello board to set goals and time frames for each part of the project. The sections I have broken the project down into are:

Model the billboard. I will not be able to place my animation onto an actual billboard, so I will have to make one in Blender which I can display the animation on. These screens are usually curved and use anamorphisms which is a form of distortion used to trick the viewer into thinking something is three dimensional due to forced perspective.
Find or create an HDRI. I will have to create an enviroment to display the billboard in. It will have to look like Hull, so I will likely go outside and capture my own images which I can use as an environment texture. I will use Photoshop to turn my own image into a HDRI which can then be imported into Blender as an enviroment.
Create or find 3D assets for animation. I will need to create a model of The Deep and a shark and some fish to fill out the aquarium scene. I will most likely have to make my own model for The Deep building but can look for fish and shark models online.
Create an environment for 3D assets. I will have to make an underwater environment using geometry nodes to place the assets in for my animation.
Keyframe and set up movement for animation
Bring animation into the billboard scene
Render animation
Add sound, typography and QR code in post-production using After Effects or Premiere Pro

This is a very linear process, and each step leads into the other. I have given myself rough time estimates to complete each step by, but I have added more time than I anticipate for each step for flexibility. I made a waterfall chart based on these steps to show how they lead from one to the other.

Each week, I will meet with a group of classmates to discuss progress and get feedback and suggestions for the project through scrum group meetings. This will also help me to keep on task with my work as I will be encouraged to do more work to get feedback every week.

References

Clear Channel (nd) Guide to 3D advertising and examples of innovative 3D billboards [Article]. Available online: https://www.clearchannel.co.uk/new-to-out-of-home/make-the-most-of-your-ooh-marketing-campaign/guide-to-3d-advertising-and-examples-of-innovative-3d-billboards [Accessed: 01/11/2024]

Cottingham, Darren (nd) How distracting is roadside advertising? [Article]. Available online: How Distracting is Roadside Advertising? [Accessed: 02/11/2024]

Fatima, Maheen (2023) Everything You Need to Know About Nike Air Max 3D Billboard in Japan that surprises the world [Article]. Available online: https://brandingforum.org/general/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nike-air-max-3d-billboard-in-japan-that-surprises-the-world/#:~:text=This%20billboard%20advertising%20kicks%20in,people%20worldwide%20into%20potential%20customers. [Accessed: 01/11/2024]

Gavrilova, Alexandra (2023) How 3D Billboards Work: Everything To Know! [Article]. Available online: Look Blog: How 3D Billboards Work: Everything To Know! [Accessed: 01/11/2024]

Priority (2024) Anamorphic Billboard Advertising [Article]. Available online: https://priorityoutdoor.co.uk/anamorphic-3d-digital-billboard-advertising/ [Accessed: 01/11/2024]

The Clios (2022) Nike 3-D Air Max Billboard [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPeXRJyIjwA [Accessed: 01/11/2024]

Sea Studio (2024) The Crucial Role of Sound Design in Animation and Motion Graphics [Article]. Available online: The Crucial Role of Sound Design in Animation and Motion Graphics | by Sea Studio | Medium [Accessed: 02/11/2024]

The Drum (2022) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXisHwtwWUY [Accessed: 01/11/2024]

Tokyo NHK (2022) [4k] Giant 3D Cat on Billboard in Shinjuku – Tokyo Japan 3D 猫新宿東京 [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tEu9hWGQWQ [Accessed: 01/11/2024]