World First NZ Technology to Portray Plight of Abandoned Kiwi Dogs

New ground-breaking technology developed in New Zealand is set to revolutionise the movie-going experience and is being brought to life by a charity aimed at helping abandoned Kiwi dogs.

Award-winning Auckland production company Finch has developed a system that allows for two different films to be viewed on a cinema screen at the same time with the use of specially designed glasses, similar to 3D.

In a world first, the technology will be utilised by the Pedigree Adoption Drive Charitable Trust in this year's annual campaign, which aims to give the thousands of dogs abandoned every year in New Zealand a second chance at life.

The state-of-the-art tech designed by Finch will be employed during advertisements for the charitable initiative which will air prior to selected screenings of The Avengers film at Hoyts cinema in Sylvia Park.

Pedigree Marketing Manager, Oliver Downs, says the experience will continue to bring to life the plight of abandoned dogs and actively demonstrate the difference that people can make.

"Before they enter the cinema, consumers will be asked to make a choice between a free pair of glasses and a pair that require a donation. Depending on which glasses they chose, their experiences will differ accordingly," says Downs.

"Two versions of the 2012 Pedigree Adoption Drive advertisement will then play - one, showing an abandoned dog Buzz, will be viewed by those wearing the free glasses, while footage of Buzz after he is rescued, re-homed, happy and healthy will be seen through the glasses of those who donated to the cause."

Downs says that a singular voiceover will connect both of the charity's advertisements and at the end of the film screening, viewers will be asked to drop off their glasses to encourage others to enjoy the experience and contribute to the campaign.

"We are so excited to be able to present the new Pedigree Adoption Drive campaign to the public in this unique way and have really relished the experience of working with Finch on the project," he says.

Finch Managing Director and Executive Producer Rob Galluzzo says that the cutting-edge tech was developed when the company began pulling apart existing 3D technology for an ongoing project and identified a loop hole.

"Our director of creative technology, Emad Tahtouh, discovered an ambiguity in conventional 3D technology and exploited it to create the system which we call the 37 Degree Process. It differs from 3D in several ways. It is not 3D - rather than use the polarization technique to display a single stereoscopic 3D image to the viewer, it uses the same technology to display two discreet 2D images. Two completely separate 2D video streams are polarized, similar to the way 3D video is polarized, but those images are sent to different viewers," Galluzo says.

An application of this technology is to give consumers glasses, which contain either two left polarized lenses or two right polarized lenses. Essentially half the audience could be watching Film A while the other half was watching Film B, he says.

"Cinema is about a shared experience. With conventional film storytelling, the tears, laughter, and exhiliartion are all deliberately designed to affect the audience at the same time. But now suddenly you may not be having the same experience as the person next to you. In this instance, the technology is actually a storytelling tool that demonstrates the plight of abandoned dogs. If you donate you see how you can help save a dog. If you don't, you don't help save an abandoned dog. It's a wonderfully simple idea demonstrated beautifully, and invariably it leads to conversation amongst the audience."

Galluzzo says that as well as being involved with the Pedigree Adoption Drive campaign locally, the company has been invited to Cannes Lions to speak at the Screen Advertising World Association seminar in June about the innovative new technology.

The implementation of the 37 Degree technology by the Pedigree Adoption Drive follows the success of the charity's Doggelgänger website utilised in 2011 - a state-of-the-art human to canine pairing software designed to connect homeless dogs to their human doubles.

Now in its fourth year in New Zealand, The Pedigree Adoption Drive Charitable Trust raises awareness and funds for animal shelters and desperate dogs in local communities, helping to house, feed and care for the unwanted canines.

Since 2009, the charity has raised just over $160,000 on behalf of parent company MARS to support shelters and organisations such as the RNZSPCA, German Shepherd Rescue Trust and Paw Justice.

The Pedigree Adoption Drive campaign will run from April to September 2012, but Pedigree also makes a small donation for every Pedigree pack sold throughout the year to the Pedigree Adoption Drive Charitable Trust.

For more information on the Pedigree Adoption Drive and the 37 Degrees technology from Finch visit www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.co.nz

 

Notes to Editors

About The Pedigree Adoption Drive

The Pedigree Adoption Drive Charitable Trust is part of a global programme established by Pedigree to help raise awareness and funds for desperate dogs in local communities, helping to house, feed and care for the unwanted canines. It is estimated that more than 10,000 dogs are abandoned by their owners each year in New Zealand as indicated by data from the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RNZSPCA)

About Finch

Finch is a nimble independent production company, focused on the crafts of storytelling, entertainment and technology. Finch partners with advertising agencies to use these crafts to bring effective marketing solutions to Brands

Finch believe that their job as storytellers is to be entertaining, and that adapting the technology they use in the production process can have a huge effect on a story's impact, recall and emotion.

The company have offices in Auckland and Sydney and although it is a young company have won a multitude of awards. In their first year, they have had their work recognized at significant international shows including the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, ADFest in Asia, AWARD in Australia, and AXIS here in New Zealand. The company has been nominated for an International Emmy for digital fiction for a 22 part series we produced for Qantas, and Rob Galluzzo's film RED HILL was nominated for an AFI earlier this year for best original screenplay.

About 3D and the 37 Degree Technology

How "3D" works

One of the most common ways to produce a visual 3D effect, which you might see when going to see a 3D film in a cinema, or watching it on your 3D TV at home, uses a method called "Circular Polarization".

The film is shot using two cameras instead of one. Both cameras are usually 2.5 inches apart, which is the average distance between a persons eyes. When the film is then played back in the cinema, the two video streams are polarized at opposite angles, the viewer then wears a special pair of glasses which can block certain angles of polarized light.

So your left eye will only see what the left camera shot and your right eye will only see what the right camera shot. In essence, you're tricking your brain in to thinking it's a real image, and not a picture. Your brain then meshes the two images together, creating a 3D effect.

How 37 Degrees Works

"37 Degrees" differs from 3D in several ways. Firstly, it is not 3D. Rather than use the polarization technique to display a single stereo 3D image on the screen, it uses the same technology to display two separate 2D images. Two completely separate 2D video streams are polarized, similar to the way 3D video is polarized.

An application of this technology is to give consumers glasses, which contained either 2 left polarized lenses or 2 right polarized lenses. Essentially half the audience could be watching Film A while the other half was watching Film B.