XFactor Bopheads - Dynamic Videos
Time of Creation: August 2015 – November 2015
Type of Project: Video
Task
The latest season of the English casting show "The X Factor" was to be advertised with various dynamic videos. For each new episode a new video should be released within an app, which should enable the viewer to record a lip-synchronous video to a known pop hit. The interaction between the participants' video recording and the existing video clip was then edited into a short humorous music video using the "face-in-a-hole" method.
Realization/Solution
The special feature of this project was the face-in-a-hole process. Usually, static images are used for this type of personalization. In the case of the Bophead videos, however, videos recorded with the user's mobile phone had to be integrated into the recesses. One of the biggest challenges was the different colors and lighting conditions in each of the eight different videos. For each of the eight videos, an individual overlay had to be created, which simulated the color and lighting conditions accordingly.
In some of the videos, users of the application were also given the opportunity to record together with friends. Up to 4 different faces were then integrated into the video. Using a distribution matrix, the participants were then automatically assigned to the different "faceless" bodies.
In the end, the participants received lip-synchronous, humorous music videos in which they slipped into the bodies of cats, astronauts, robots or even rockers and gave some very special interpretations of various pop hits.
Technology
DDD is responsible for the detailed tracking of the heads and larger parts of the necessary post-production. The personalization was realized with the help of ImpossibleFX. The web-based software developed by Impossible Software for the individualization of videos. Live rendering was also implemented in Impossible Software's cloud-based rendering cluster.
Success
The app was advertised on TV during the TV show and more than 250,000 personalized videos were created during the runtime of "The X Factor UK".
