By Jerell Tongson
On Monday (9/9/9), Arcade Fire released their first single “Reflektor” as an interactive Google Chrome experiment. Directed by Vincent Morriset, the video follows a young woman in Haiti who “travels between her world and ours.” The James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) produced and David Bowie assisted single is the first release off of their Reflektor album due out October 29th.
Users open up the video on both their desktop Chrome browser and on their smartphone/tablet device to begin. The webcam on the computer detects the mobile device (displaying a virtual pinhole) and the user can control various perception altering and lighting effects as the video plays on in front of them. It utilizes the gyroscope, accelerometer and camera vision of the mobile device to give the video another dimension of movement and user-controllability that haven’t been utilized to this level before in this arena.
The Data Arts team at Google (led by creative director Aaron Koblin) using Javascript (Three.js & WebGL) and WebSockets worked in conjunction with the band to create a wholly unique experience for their audience. The interactivity can go even a step further and allows for open source tinkering with the code where the aptly-minded fans can make their own versions of the video as well.
“Reflektor” is the first big, splashy step in the run up to their new album, which includes two new versions: one by Anton Corbjin (U2, Nirvana, Depeche Mode) and the other by the Creators Project. You can pre-order it here before its release on October 29th.
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