Jess Wheeler’s SXSW Diary #4 and #5: Artistic drones, voice and what’s next, the damage of data and the death of the middle man
Jess Wheeler (left), associate creative director at Fenton Stephens has been sent to SXSW 2018 in Austin, Texas. Wheeler is bringing daily updates for Campaign Brief readers, featuring only the very best of the conference.
Can drones combine art and science?
Drones are undoubtedly a cool piece of tech. They’ve basically given DOP’s wings. And every day they’re being taught new trades, such as how to build houses and bridges, play air tennis and disappear into thin air before crashing into some stranger’s backyard on Boxing Day.
Drones have also been unceremoniously responsible for raining death. But can they be used for art?
As I’ve learned, there is huge potential for drone technology in the performing arts. Small, nimble drones are being ‘dressed’, so they don’t actually look like drones at all, and integrated into live performances.
They’ll soon be on Broadway, Cirque Du Soleil and even on stage with Metallica.
But the long term goal is far more immersive. Ideally, drone developers in the performing arts want to break the fourth wall. They want drones to make us part of the story.
Imagine releasing a flock of birds into the crowd that come and rest on your shoulder. Rain clouds that can move from the stage to the audience.
And we’ll soon be able to light a set like never before.
This is stuff I’d never ever conceived, and you have to admit, it’s pretty cool.
Right now though it’d probably end in decapitation, but I’m assured those days are numbered.
You’re the voice try and understand it
Siri, Alexa, Google, there’s a huge push right now to get everyone talking to their devices. And while the experience is clunky, every single time someone around the world talks to their device, it’s learning.
I’ll admit I’m not one of them, there’s something strange about having an increasingly sentient box in my house listening to my every move, but it’s the way of the future.
And given there’s already a generation of toddlers and kids growing up with this technology, who will consider it the norm, the paranoia that resides in me will be less evident in them.
But what’s next? Gesture it seems. For certain applications, the friction of touch will be gone. We’ll just wave a hand, or raise a finger to switch a device on or off, or change the channel, or even change our environment. I played with a digital picture frame where I could alter the artwork just by waving at it. Imagine how easy it’ll be to skip an ad.
But whilst all this stuff is impressive, for a time we are going to look like massive dickheads using it.
Without good creative, data is deadly
I’ve heard certain folks talk about how data is everything. Targeting is becoming so precise that we can talk to the right person at the right time and that, advertising-wise, it guarantees us a result.
A good point was made in the ‘What’s Next After Advertising? The Jump To Content’ session, which was quite the opposite.
The more precise we get with targeting, the more important the quality of the message is.
It’s no secret that people’s appetite for advertising is waning. In a world of ad blockers and streaming services, it’s easy to avoid.
So if we start loading up our laser-guided, heat-seeking advertising data missiles with absolute shit it will have catastrophic effects on the brand.
The idea has never been more important.
The middle man is an endangered species. (That means us, guys.)
Having always had an interest in it, I dropped by a session called ‘Creating Fearless Designs Through Street Art’, and I’m just going to impress one finding on you.
Brands are getting increasingly savvy about going direct to creators.
In this instance, we’re talking graffiti artists, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out this is not an isolated relationship.
And the artists are doing things on their terms. They’re setting the boundaries of integrity and turning it around very quickly. (And without agency costs.)
It’s a reminder that we are not the sole owners of ‘the idea’, we are still a deep well, but brands are finding other streams from which to drink.
That was a bit of a strange metaphor, maybe I’m dehydrated from spending too much time on Rainey St.