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Project Overview

Two Left Feet is a "modern day pop-up book". When users of the app point their device’s camera at the physical book, the characters and scenes are brought to life using 3D animation and narration on the screen, appearing as if they are performing on the pages of the book. They can move their device around to explore the animation from any angle and up close providing a true 3D experience. The app works with any edition of the book and those users without the book can print the included canvas to create the same effect and full experience.

Organisation

Resin

Team

Developer : Resin
App Publisher : boooKAPP
Book Author : Adam Stower
Book Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing LLC

Project Brief

The brief in this case didn't come from client it came from within. Two Left Feet and boooKAPP is an idea we developed after optioning the children's book from UK author Adam Stower and Bloomsbury Publishing. Our animation and visual effects studio, Resin is well established as a service business to the advertising, film and television industry. We had for some time been looking at ways we could create our own IP using the skills of our studio.

Technology is challenging traditional industry at a rapid rate and an opportunity to add value to items people already own and create opportunities for new hybrid products that can work together in partnership.

The brief was to develop a new type of book app that can add value to existing books in homes around the world, create a value-add to new book sales and stand alone to make the story accessible to a digital only audience.

Project Need

The book publishing industry is feeling pressure from technology and looking for opportunities in this space. There have been a range of eBook and Book App formats on different platforms and devices appearing in the marketplace in recent years without a clear and dominant format that all have chosen to adopt.

Today it is quite common for young children to be exposed to technology very early. Children as young as two and three are able to use tablets and there are educational and entertainment based products to cater to that market. As a result this audience is at a higher risk of missing the value of traditional mediums, such as the printed book that provide a vital role in the learning experience and provide balance in a society that is tech dominant.

The innovation is more an opportunity. The opportunity is to be a part of establishing new ways of experiencing stories, new ways of learning and new ways of engaging with content and bringing value add content to the user into the current medium versus sending them away to another medium for more.

User Experience

The user experience for Two Left Feet considers a number of user experiences.

The key feature of the app is the 3D mode that uses augmented reality to bring the story to life with 3D character animation, narration and music. The user has a choice of 3D mode that works with the Two Left Feet physical book or the included canvas mode.

The book mode will work with any copy of the book (first printed 2004). User's point their device’s camera at the physical book, the characters and scenes are brought to life using 3D animation and narration on the screen, appearing as if they are in fact performing on the pages of the book. They can move their device around to explore the animation from any angle and up. This is achieved without any special reprint or codes that detract from the aesthetics of the book.

The canvas mode presents the user with an option to retrieve the canvas via email or print directly within the app if they are able to use AirPrint. Once printed the canvas becomes the stage, similar to the book providing the full story and 3D animated experience. Instead of turning pages, the user is prompted to progress in the voiceover and has an interface to advance to the next page.

Finally an eBook mode, which uses the author's original illustrations providing users who do not own the original book a chance to experience the original story.

Project Marketing

What we have created is a combination of intellectual property that we can reuse and a process or pipeline that we can now look to apply to others. We saw the value in establishing a brand for what we have created and boooKAPP (pronounced "boo cap") was born. The modern day pop-up book.

We have built the service side of our business (Resin) on production values and trust that we will deliver something remarkable. boooKAPP will stand for similar principles. We want people to understand that our products will be special – there are extraordinary experiences and production values on offer with a boooKAPP. This also provides us a tangible element to what we have so that when we discuss new opportunities with publishers and authors there is a concise way of explaining what it is and what it does.

Two Left Feet has been marketed with the assistance of Surprise Attack, a Melbourne based games marketer. We have had industry reviews and have been featured in the "New and Noteworthy" on the Australian iPad App Store where we have achieved a number 1 ranking. There is a trailer, dedicated website, Facebook page and Twitter.

Some reviews:
Gizmodo "Resin Turns Two Left Feet Into Something Magical"
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/08/resin-turns-two-left-feet-into-something-magical/

c|net "Two Left Feet: an AR pop-up book for the digital age"
http://www.cnet.com.au/two-left-feet-an-ar-pop-up-book-for-the-digital-age-339345317.htm

MCV Pacific "Pioneering augmented reality app launches from Adelaide studio"
http://www.mcvpacific.com/news/read/pioneering-augmented-reality-app-launches-from-adelaide-studio/0120511

Australian Creative "How Two Left Feet rewrote the future of publishing"
http://www.australiancreative.com.au/news/how-two-left-feet-rewrote-the-future-of-publishing