CAMH, HeART Lab
Digital Amphitheater
- CAMH
- HeART Lab
- 3D Design
- Strategy
- CMS Setup
- Creative Development
- UX & UI Design
- Web Development
- AR Development
A digital exploration of physical art
Step into the Digital Amphitheatre, an immersive, intricately detailed world of myth, legend, and beauty that brings the power of ancient storytelling into the 21st century.
Explore important themes, including gender, love, and nature, with detailed visuals, interactivity, and a captivating soundscape, with the evocative art of acclaimed sculptor E.B. Cox taking centre stage.
The Digital Amphitheatre guides the viewer through a creative experience designed to promote feelings of well-being, inspiration, and wonder.
Making art, myth, and beauty accessible to all
Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and The Exhibition Place envisioned a digital experience that showcased 20 sculptures of Greek gods by famed Canadian artist, E.B. Cox. The experience needed to inspire, educate, and ultimately encourage users to visit the physical exhibition.
To enrich the experience, a crucial piece of the process was to build a platform allowing users to share their own stories — in image or text form — inspired by the themes explored in E.B. Cox’s works.
The virtual space needed to effectively portray the art and its themes, enabling visitors to enjoy them from the comfort of their own homes. Importantly, it also needed to function optimally on a range of web browsers and mobile devices.
Seamlessly combining the physical and digital worlds
Creative Direction
Overseeing the creative direction of the project, Reflektor Digital aimed to forge a captivating, memorable, and visually stunning virtual world. Using the theme of an ancient Greek amphitheatre to showcase the statues, we set out to create a classical atmosphere, drawing inspiration from Greek typography, architecture, and art.
3D Design
3D design was a fundamental part of bringing the project to life. To introduce the experience, we designed a 3D scene with an ancient ship in an ocean to represent the journey of discovery we all undertake in life.
For the next phase of the experience, we designed a 3D amphitheatre to envelop the user in an ancient Greek world. Here, users can view and explore digital versions of eight real-life E.B. Cox sculptures.
Sound Design
To accompany the captivating 3D visuals, we added a moving soundscape featuring traditional and ancient Greek instruments such as the lyre and kithara. The sound design contributed to the simultaneously authentic and ethereal atmosphere of the experience.
3D Statues
Eight E.B. Cox statues were 3D-scanned and converted into accurate digital replicas. We then optimized the 3D models, integrated them into the Digital Amphitheatre scene, and built seamless AR interactions for each. This enabled users to rotate and view the sculptures at all angles, and even to place them in their own homes, utilizing AR, using their mobile device.
Scroll Experience
To make the digital journey as simple, accessible, and enjoyable for all users, we built the experience around a scroll-based navigation system. Using a mouse, trackpad, or touchscreen, users can seamlessly glide through the experience with ease.
Custom CMS
We built a custom CMS system, allowing users to submit their own stories and images, which the client could then review, approve, and incorporate into the experience.
Tech Meets Art: A Digital Symphony
Utilizing 3D scanning, asset optimization, and interactive elements, the project crafts an immersive and accessible experience for users. With seamless audio interactivity and a custom CMS for story sharing, it's a harmonious blend of technology and art.
Technologies
- 3D Scanning
- WebGL
- React
- React-three-fiber
- Strapi CMS
- GCP
