Get in touch!
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to share your love for motion & immersive design.
Brandon Riley © 2025 All Rights Reserved
Year
Timeline
Category
Immersive
Interactive
Installation
Role
Tools
Unreal Engine 5
Xbox Kinect
Blender
Inspired by a Mailchimp advertisement featuring a dancing furry creature, I reimagined the concept as an interactive installation for global live events. Using an Xbox Kinect and Unreal Engine 5, I created a real-time mirror experience where viewers control a giant orange furry character through their own movements. The installation transforms participants into this playful character, projecting their movements onto a wall-sized display transporting the user into this memorable advertisement.
The goal was to transform an advertisement into an engaging, participatory experience that could build brand connection at live events. By maintaining the original ad's whimsical character but adding direct user control, the installation creates moments of joy and surprise that align with Mailchimp's playful brand identity. The wall-sized projection and immediate movement mirroring were chosen to create an immersive, instantly intuitive interaction that would draw participants in and encourage spontaneous engagement.
Development began with solving the technical challenge of connecting Kinect motion data to Unreal Engine 5. After exploring various approaches, including TouchDesigner and OSC protocols, I implemented IPI Recorder and IPI Mocap Studio to stream skeletal data through UE5's Live Link plugin. I enhanced Unreal's basic mannequin model in Blender, adding dynamic fur that responds to movement in real-time. The environment was carefully modeled to match the original ad's setting, creating a cohesive connection to the source material.
In user testing, the installation successfully created moments of genuine delight, with viewers consistently leaving the experience with broad smiles. The intuitive nature of the movement mirroring allowed participants to engage immediately, while the real-time fur physics and full-body control maintained their interest. The project demonstrates the potential for transforming traditional advertising into interactive brand experiences that create memorable connections with audiences.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to share your love for motion & immersive design.
Brandon Riley © 2025 All Rights Reserved
