ZOAN

03/05/2023

Turning Virtual Helsinki into an epic Käärijä Fortnite experience.

When Epic Games released their open-source update to Unreal Editor for Fortnite, we knew we had to come up with something crazy.

Teaming up with great partners United Imaginations Warner Music Finland, we decided to turn our beloved Capital and digital twin Virtual Helsinki into a Fortnite experience and feature Finland's popular Eurovision contestant Käärijä.

Fortnite players can explore the virtual Helsinki Senate Square and show off their best dance moves in a designated dance area to the artist’s ESC entry Cha Cha Cha-themed music before and during the Eurovision Song Contest. Plus, the online experience comes with plenty of promotional content about the artist.

Once again, this project is one example of our pioneering attitude. When the opportunity presents itself - we are ready to create new experiences for our clients!

Go and play - Island Code 1530-0619-6061

Read more: https://zoan.com/blog/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-fortnite/

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06/04/2023

Moving People into the Future.

To celebrate its history of 160 years of moving people, VR Group, a Finnish government-owned railway company, wanted to take a diverging track for the anniversary.

In addition to honoring the long history, VR wanted to celebrate by looking into the future.

They started envisioning how the train experience could look and feel in 2072.

VR's future work, "Train Travel in 2072" is an outcome of future research and collaborative workshops with VR personnel, children, and students. It is a transformative approach to give people of different ages a voice to share what is important to them, visualize future transportation, and tell a story of how railway travel could be in 2072.

For E.g. do we even need rails in the future?

1000 km/h moving train on a magnet track. At that speed, marveling at the landscape from the window is hard. But what if you could choose the content on the screen, making the journey an immersive experience tailored to your taste?

"We wanted to use the power of storytelling to visualize the future of train travel - the outcome of our research - and bring it closer to everyday life. With ZOAN, we were able to tell the story, share what was found important, and bring our vision to life - what mobility in 2072 could look and feel like."

- Tiina Maria Honkanen, Head of Product & Concept Design, VR Group

To bring this vision to life, ZOAN Studio crafted the short film based on the workshop concept ideas using Unreal Engine. ZOAN's Unreal Engine artists visualized the essence of "Train travel in 2072" with a motion-to-emotion philosophy.

Read more (Finnish) about the project and see the full film - link in the comments.

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05/04/2023

Your vote matters!

Just like in a Democracy - the winner is selected by public voting among these awesome candidates.

But we strongly suggest you vote for INVERSE, a project initiated by HomeStart to help end homelessness.

So vote in both categories - INVERSE is your candidate;)

The project was a collaborative effort made by Cornerstone, ZOAN Studio, TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles, and ICON Architecture Boston.

Webby Nominations
-Inverse in the Advertising, Media & PR - Best NFT or Web3 Campaign category: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting #/2023/advertising-media-pr/advertising-campaigns/best-nft-or-web3-campaign
- Inverse in the Metaverse, Immersive & Virtual - Public Service & Activism category: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting #/2023/metaverse-immersive-virtual/general-virtual-experiences/public-service-activism

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I just voted in The Webby People's Voice Awards and checked my voter registration.

30/03/2023

In the final episode of Metaverse Q&A, we look back to 2017 when we published the groundbreaking Virtual Helsinki.

Virtual Helsinki is a multipurpose virtual production environment and is one of the best examples of how versatile virtual worlds can be.

Since its inception, the City of Helsinki and ZOAN have applied the model for +30 projects, including over 1 million viewers breaking virtual May Day concert with JVG, art exhibitions, virtual tourism, and beyond.

Looking back, Miikka is connecting the dots on whether we can call Virtual Helsinki an early Metaverse platform.

Read more - Virtual Helsinki: https://zoan.com/cases/virtual-helsinki/

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23/03/2023

AR is a great tool to augment the experience.

It enables us to display digital assets from the virtual environment to the physical world.

Watch episode 14 as Miikka explains how AR can be deployed as a window between these two worlds.

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16/03/2023

Join Miikka in Episode 13 as he explores the adaptation of the Metaverse, the exciting new digital realm.

We are already discovering the many opportunities it creates together with our various stakeholders.

Watch ep13 now.

This is how we do it: https://zoan.com/

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15/03/2023

When, how, and why?

Watch episode 12 to find out what kind of tools and access could accelerate the dissemination of the Metaverse.

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14/03/2023

The day is today - SXSW!

Starting at 2 pm, come to Wax Myrtle's Hotel to explore BURST's, Studio's, and Cornerstone's showcases and gameplay demos!

Miikka Rosendahl will join a panel discussion: "Immersive Technologies—A driver for future societies?" at the event along with other creative tech leaders.

See you there!

09/03/2023

Virtual worlds and digital experiences expand our reality in such a way that possibilities feel endless.

But how should we constrain the Metaverse and different activities in the new realm?

Endless possibilities or empty spaces?

In episode 11, Miikka explores the philosophy behind the extent of the Metaverse.

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09/03/2023

Are you curious about the Nordic countries and their technologies for social good?

Join us at The House of Creative Denmark SXSW on Sunday, March 12th, 1-3 pm and meet five tech leaders from Denmark, Sweden,Norway, Finland and Iceland, as they show us just how their technological solutions are both cost efficient and sustainable.

The case presentations will reveal some of the secret workings behind many new Nordic tech solutions - how they manage to be successful businesses while also keeping an eye out for the greater good. Is it in the DNA?

Speakers

- CEO at Maternity Foundation, Anna Frellsen, explains how scaling digital tools can help scale maternal and newborn health with their Safe Delivery App (Denmark)

- Chief Product Officer at MedEasy, Nils Christian Tvedt Karlsen, will show us how investing in knowledge will save lives with AIand sound technology (Norway)

- Founder & CEO at Atlas Primer, Hinrik Atlason, talks about rethinking education for those who think and learn differently (Iceland)

- Founder & Secretary General at Hack for Earth Foundation, Ann Molin, presents the power of citizen-driven innovation to meet many of today’s most pressing challenges (Sweden)

- COO & Head of Studio at ZOAN, Laura Olin talks about joining the Metaverse to preserve the Amazonian rainforest (Finland)

The session will be moderated by Keld Reinicke, Media Exec and Founder at Veo Technologies.

Don’t miss out on these exclusive case talks at The House of Creative Denmark

Limited seats apply.

Register Now: https://www.eventbrite.dk/e/tech-for-social-good-sxsw-tickets-570392578557?lang=en-dk&locale=en_DK&status=30&view=listing

09/03/2023

Are you signed in yet?

Act fast - registrations are pouring in!

Read more and register for the event: https://zoan.com/blog/SXSW-event-2023/

Join us at SXSW - it will be epic!

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