Wunderman Thompson Switzerland has created an immersive browsing experience for Red Bull Media World

The city of Nazareth in Portugal is famous for its giant waves. Now everyone can experience the great big waves for themselves – in the Swiss Museum of Transport and without any VR hardware.

Editorial Board

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March 13, 2023

‘The Beast’: This is what surfers pay homage to the 30-plus-meter waves in Nazaré, Portugal. Only the best and bravest surfers venture into the waters there. If you don’t belong to this small group of extreme athletes, you can still experience what it feels like – completely harmless and without getting wet.

With “Nazaré – Surfing the Beast”, Wunderman Thompson Switzerland has created an immersive experience for Red Bull Media World at the Swiss Museum of Transport, which impressively shows the power of waves to visitors. The result is a multi-user experience that requires no VR hardware. The combination of real shots of Nazareth, silhouettes imagined in real time, play with dimensions and spatial sound creates an experience that makes the viewer feel at one with the wave. As a result, even if you are an ordinary person, you can experience the thrill of surfing big waves like never before.

Technology mode

The technical implementation is complex: the 9x3m LED wall is controlled by a high-performance computer and uses full body motion detection to recognize users’ reactions and interact with the video content on the screen in real time. Three sensor modules record depth information in real time, which is then visualized at 1:1 using Unity 3D. In addition, a specially designed spatial acoustic installation with 8 audio channels is specially designed for the exhibition space. The spectacle of the senses is completed by a dynamic facade to light up the room.

The project was developed and realized creatively and technically by Wunderman Thompson in close collaboration with the Headtrip agency from Cologne. Headtrip specializes in creating immersive media experiences for brands using technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and interactive spatial projections. From March 20, visitors can experience the immersive wall as part of the new special exhibition ‘Water – Breaking the Surface’ at Red Bull Media World at the Swiss Museum of Transport.

Red Bull official: Isabelle Hen-Wollmarker (Head of Red Bull Media World), Monica Muijsers (Exhibition Director), Ignaz König (Multimedia Designer). Official at Wunderman Thompson: Benjamin Franken (Creative Direction), Nick Patrick Hermann (Consultant), Manfred Pacher (Consultant), Michael Meyer (Chief Technology Officer), Danny Politas (UX Design), Konrad Dirksen (Junior Motion Designer), Rabbit Rexby (Software Development). Head Trip Responsible: Erik Benz (Creative Direction), Olaf Hirschberg (Consultant), Felix Held (Immersive Artist), Lamine Selah (Software Development), Lennart Damann (Spatial Sounddesign).