Obscura
Obscura Digital was a San Francisco-based creative studio that combined next-level technology with awe-inspiring artistry to transform spaces into experiences, locations into destinations, and moments into memories. We worked with visionary, global change-making clients to create one-of-a-kind immersive multimedia experiences that reinvented physical space and inspired audiences. We provided cutting edge technology development, experience design, and content production for architectural media integrations, large-scale projection mapping, and interactive media interfaces (mobile, VR, touchscreen displays, spatial motion tracking, etc.).
Madison Square Garden Entertainment acquired Obscura in 2017 and subsequently closed the business in 2019 to focus on Sphere. I collaborated with the C-suite on business development, and lead creative development and production for a wide array of client projects – ranging from a full immersive theme park to VR/AR entertainment. Due to confidentiality and for sake of brevity, I’ve featured just a small selection of projects below. Additional work, including process documentation, is available for review & discussion on request.
Role
Director, Design & Creative Services, 2018-2019
Associate Creative Director, 2016-2018
Producer, 2015-2016
Discovery District
Client
AT&T
Year
2018-19
Obscura Digital was initially hired by AT&T to peer review Gensler’s experience design for the $100 million overhaul of its Corporate HQ in Dallas. Gensler had laid out a series of activations across the sprawling plaza and three buildings it connected. However, it was missing the resonance of the AT&T brand. We changed their core plaza sculptural interactive installation called “The Peel” into a shape that echoed the AT&T logo, which would serve as the connective heart of the plaza. From there we transformed the design so that all content platforms would draw people in and allow the AT&T/Time Warner brand to flow from the heart of the plaza throughout the entire Discovery District experience.
I was responsible for the experience design & creative strategy that anchored this project, including the concept for the interactive AT&T themed “Globe” centerpiece and the lobby’s LED wrapped columns that increased media surface and the connection between the interior lobby and exterior plaza.
Al Wasl
Client
AS+GG
Year
2018-19
Obscura Digital was engaged by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture to design the projection system for its crowning center of the Dubai Expo 2020. Once engaged we brought our renowned experience strategy to the table, developing a content program that would ensure this world’s largest installation would shine with its intended purpose. I led design strategy and produced the technical specification for the permanent media system and projection installation.
Art on theMART
Vornado Realty asked Obscura Digital to create a new public art icon for the city of Chicago and its legendary Merchandise Mart property. 34 4k30 Boxer projectors cast over 1 million lumens of light on the building’s 2.5 acre façade, making this the largest permanent projection system in the world. Our team got to work developing a permanent projection mapping design that would endure the city’s seasons and an experience strategy that would keep the residents and tourists engaged.
Initially we proposed a content slate that would celebrate the city’s rich and dynamic culture, but our clients wanted to ensure it was not just for the city but by the city. We landed on designing and developing a custom content platform that would host a curation of submitted artwork. Art, design and engineering collaborated to create a feature-rich yet easy to use CMS product to keep the content fresh and within the best practices given the scale and location.
Features include a variety of custom filters and visual effects, allowing the curatorial team to present selected imagery with dynamic animations to curate an ongoing exhibition of imagery from celebrated artists, keeping the illuminations fresh, timely and engaging. Additionally we created a feature for setting the transition animation speed within a specified range to ensure the motion complied with department of transportation regulations.
Client
Vornado
Year
2018
Google Play
In partnership with Google Creative Labs, Obscura created a multi-touch screen installation where users could swipe, scroll and sift through the Google Play Music application at a large scale. Supported by the power of Google’s knowledge graph, the Connections Wall allowed users to see interesting and unexpected connections between the artists and content they love.
Obscura provided all hardware, technical and creative management of the installation, including implementing the UX/UI atop the back-end programming for four interactive LCD touch screens embedded in the Connections Wall, comprised of 208 square feet of 2.6mm LED tiles at an overall resolution of 3072 x 960.
Client
Google
Year
2016
Super Bowl Fan Festival
An “abandoned” warehouse was transformed into the premiere party venue in San Francisco in the days leading up to Super Bowl 50 when events company Jack Murphy Productions and Obscura energized Pier 70 with a notable line-up of artists and large scale interactive projections that included an x-ray vision effect.
The 6th Annual DIRECTV Super Fan Fest was part of the Super Bowl 50 festivities, but it was far from Super Bowl City in both geography and attitude. The Pier 70 destination fan event drew an estimated crowd of 20,000 over two nights to the lavishly converted pier building that featured two stages and three stories of viewing space. Dave Matthews Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Run DMC, and a surprise performance by Snoop Dogg played to capacity crowds.
With an exclusive invitation-only night co-hosted by billionaire Mark Cuban, concert-goers experienced a seamless interactive projection with a real-time music visualizer that could be seen on both the interior and exterior of the building. Fans were also given a “decoder” that created an “x-ray vision” effect giving people the opportunity to see artists live on stage on the exterior of the building. My role: Content Producer.
Client
DirectTV
Year
2016