Translator: Javi Garriz Reviewer: Elisabeth Buffard
Let’s face it, that button has something that draws us to it.
We can’t resist pressing it.
Just as curiosity sparks our interest in our surroundings,
it’s the question of what might happen if we press that button
that makes it so irresistible.
Nowadays almost everything, including this talk, begins or ends
by pressing a button like this one.
Now buttons are nothing new,
when TV became mainstream, we already had buttons,
but they just changed the channels, so there was nothing surprising there.
After the age of passive TV viewing videogames arrived.
Nothing to go nuts about, but now buttons did something else.
They had more than a single purpose and became programmable,
so now you had to press them to know what they did.
That sparked our curiosity: the mystery of the button.
Then the 80s came along.
I grew up when videogames became popular, especially game consoles.
This was the start of interactive entertainment mediated by technology.
Although I lost often, as you can see, I got hooked.
With an upbringing like that, I wanted everything to have buttons.
Even if nowadays they don't have a button's shape,
nor are visible to the naked eye.
The button leads to an interaction.
In the first videogames, the "bad guy" didn't do much.
He moved left and right, maybe he could even jump!
It was more control than interaction.
The digital artist Jim Campbell once said something that struck a chord with me:
“I feel as though I can interact with my cat,
but not with an ant.”
It’s easy to understand with this shot.
This simple fact made me rethink what I understood as interaction,
which is usually considered from a technological point of view
rather than a human point of view.
From then on, I have tried to learn as much as I can about interaction.
To do that I went back to its very origin.
One of the clearest examples of technology applied to interaction
is the magic lantern.
It was the first image projector in history,
a distant relative of what we know today as “augmented reality".
It was invented by the German scholar Athanasius Kircher in the 17th century.
It was used to project images in theatre performances.
Or to project images through smoke to create never before seen illusions,
known as phantasmagoria.
An interesting fact is that the same technique used to create this,
called “Pepper's ghost” which created an optical illusion in three dimensions
is still used today to create holographic images.
I was inspired by this idea, light that projected images,
so in 2006, along with Alberto Garcia, I developed this project
“very originally” named Magic Torch,
tapping into the element of surprise and magic.
We developed this little device
full of microchips, transistors, and other electrical components
that of course didn’t do anything but helped to make it look mysterious.
Some people were almost afraid to touch it.
Once the torch was on, all sorts of images followed the light
(On screen: MAGIC)
It was a very simple project but I learned quite a lot.
I learned that magic was the key.
Since magic isn’t exactly my thing
I focused on technology as a means to create astonishment.
In 2011, I took on a little project called “Water Drops.”
I had a hard time naming this one as well.
I installed a faucet that did not have water running but
you could hear it dripping.
If you covered the tap with your hands, the water accumulated
and once you dropped your hands, you would hear the accumulated water fall.
With this project I could bring forth that feeling of magic
playing with your senses
and the fact that they sometimes clash with logic and reason.
(Dripping sound)
You’re probably thinking that I could have chosen a more tasteful faucet
but it was the only one I could find with enough space to insert the sensors.
(On screen: EXTRA-ORDINARY)
With this piece I learned that
through technology, an ordinary object can become extraordinary.
In this project called Building Music, making a play on words,
literally building music as well as having a musical building,
we made a huge musical instrument out of a building.
Each window played a different musical note or sound
and with the light of a torch, the audience could create melodies.
All the music you hear in the video was created
by the participants playing with the building.
(Music)
It was interesting to observe how the shape of each building
and most of all, each participant with the same notes available
created very different melodies.
The beauty of designing interactive projects is exactly that.
The creator is always surprised to see how the participants
always do something unexpected.
It's guaranteed.
It has always been know that a work of art is never complete
until it reaches the observer,
(On screen: Artwork->Observer) when the artist connects with the audience.
In these interactive projects, we take it very literally:
with no audience, there is no project.
That is why it is imperative to make the audience want to participate.
(On screen: PLEASE, INTERACT) In order to do that, the interaction
must overcome that barrier and spark curiosity, awakening the senses.
(On screen: WE LOVE TO LOOK AT OURSELVES) For example, we all know
we love to look at ourselves.
We are amused by gazing at our own reflection,
or at best by our shadow.
That is what lead to Magnéticos (Magnetics),
a project where you saw yourself reflected through your shadow
and you could interact with it.
In this case, household objects that we all collect,
were irresistibly drawn to your shadow
and turned into an outer shell.
The next idea was: "sure, we love to look at ourselves,
but it’s a lot better with an audience".
And why not see ourselves as the stars
in one of the most visited places in the world?
In this project, giant models interacted with pedestrians in Times Square.
To give some background, this intersection has
an average of 350.000 visitors every day.
Until then, people looked at the screens
an average of less than 6 seconds.
This project multiplied this figure by 20,
now people spent more than 2 minutes watching,
or rather, interacting with the screen.
The key was to make the participant the center of attention,
the focus of interest in such a crowded place.
The models did all sorts of things to you.
They could draw a picture of you, fling you in the air,
they could kiss you and turn into a frog,
They could even teletransport you to London or Egypt if they wanted to.
So far, since the beginning of this project in 2010
we have set up 30 different types of interactions
to keep surprising the public
and of course we will set up more.
We could even call this compulsory interaction,
you walk by and the model play with you, can't complain huh?
To make it happen, we recorded the models against a green screen,
then we developed computer visual technology
that allowed us to identify and recognize each person
that walked in front of the screen.
The system then mixes it all in real time to make the interactions happen.
And speaking of having an audience,
many of us have dreamed of being rock stars.
And what could beat being the star of a rock band with your friends or family?
This project was installed in a store in Times Square
where we set up a photo booth
that used facial recognition technology
to copy your face onto a music video
where you are the main character.
In a matter of seconds the video was generated
and projected onto the building across the street
so you could have a knockout performance guaranteed.
In order to create this music video,
the musicians had special marks on their faces
that would allow the facial recognition technology to use the visitor's face,
like you will see in the following clip.
(Music)
And just as half of us have wanted to be rock stars,
who hasn’t ever dreamed of being a super hero?
I know I have.
This project goes back to the idea of extraordinary
with a very straightforward concept:
you could fly over buildings by transforming into a superhero.
(Music and robotic sounds)
And like any superhero, not only could you fly
but also shoot laser beams, have super speed,
clone yourself and many more superpowers inspired by classic comics.
I discovered that there are many types of superheroes among us.
Some who apply themselves,
Some who look forward to the future... thoughtful.
Some are happy...
…very happy
And some are real pros.
So far we have given superpowers to 1.600 people
and we hope to continue doing so.
Although some may turn into supervillains.
In developing this project we also learned that Wikipedia
has a categorized list of superpowers that is 12 pages long,
it is truly remarkable!
(Applause)
As if it had official status, you know.
Just as superhero fiction
has reached Wikipedia as a reality of our time,
today we are living in the golden age of technology.
For some years now, we’ve had cameras with software
that can literally recognize where someone is,
where his arm or hand is.
They can see and understand depth in pixels.
In the months to come, the next versions of these devices
will be able to tell someone’s heartbeat without even touching them.
It is technology like this that makes possible the projects I have shown you.
But the key to all of this is not in the technology and devices
but rather the reactions caused by the magic of technology.
Those reactions, the surprise, the curiosity, the unimaginable.
They are and always have been, the driving forces of technology.
We must strive to surprise ourselves in order to keep surprising the world.
(Applause)