Google Daydream
As an AR/VR Producer for Google Daydream, I supported the 15-member Immersive Arts team, comprising of 2D, 3D illustration, animation, and technical artists. I facilitated collaborations with internal UX, Product, and Engineering stakeholders and external brands to create engaging, interactive AR experiences for Google Product Areas like Search and YouTube.
YouTube AR Ads
In 2019, Immersive Arts and YouTube ran a pilot for a new AR Ads format that brought users into their favourite movie IP using AR experiences that ran alongside YouTube movie trailers. We partnered with 6 major studios; Disney, Hulu, Stadia, Warner Bros, Sony, Netflix. The goal was to drive engagement and personalization in YouTube. The movie studios were excited about increasing brand affinity and seeing their IP paired with delightful AR effects, amplifying their marketing strategy.
Role: I created a design and development schedule for the pilot under tight resource and time constraints; allowing for asset acquisition, prototyping, and real-time reviews with the studios. I also managed user-testing sessions with the UXR team; summarizing feedback into the design process. I created a launch schedule and worked closely with Engineering and YouTube on a staggered release schedule. We also created video assets for a promotional video for the release of Jumanji, The Next Level. I co-led video capture of the actors (Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Danny Glover, Danny DeVito, Karen Gillan and Awkwafina) using the AR experience.
Impact: All 6 campaigns launched successfully in global markets, exceeded revenue targets as well as activation and engagement time. It was a joy to see the majority of users who activated the experience, snapped a picture (60%) and saved or shared it (27%) on social media.
Artistic + Technical Challenge: Every experience had multiple effects, accessible via a carousel. The user can select different effects and interact with elements that were animated, attached to the user, and responsive to the user’s movement. This increased complexity and effort but increased engagement times. The team also had to maintain a high level of artistic fidelity of the IP throughout the experience. Technical artists enabled new, innovative effects (using physically based rendering and custom masking and occlusion) to keep the server load down while aligning realistic IP with 3D visuals.
AR Athletes in Search
For the Tokyo Olympics, Google announced a partnership with world-class athletes to visualize their signature moves in 3D. Users could view athletes like Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Megan Rapinoe and others from a simple Google Search and see them perform in their own spaces.
Role: Scoping the project with UX leads and technical artists, writing RFPs, and evaluating agencies to manage the various stages of the production (scan, capture, animation). I managed initial capture sessions with test athletes and executed the volumetric scan and motion capture shoots with Naomi Osaka. Once the initial pipeline was established, I worked with technical leads and agencies to develop the production plan for the other athletes.
Impact: The Athletes in Search project was featured in 2021 at the main consumer keynote at Google I/O, Google's annual conference. Despite the Tokyo Olympics' delay by one year, the project reached millions of active users and brought the spirit of the games to life while people were sheltering indoors.
Artistic + Technical Challenge: Pre-production began in 2020 with tennis player, Naomi Osaka. We collaborated with Google’s light stage to get a volumetric model including textures and features to create an “AR avatar”. With agency partner, Framestore, we set up a motion capture stage to capture key elements of Naomi’s performance. Technical artists built custom rendering systems and animation behavior systems to integrate the AR avatars into Google’s platform. The pipeline had to be modified for each athlete depending on their sport, not to mention the pandemic added complexity to all shoot logistics.
