Tues, April 13, 2021

An Intersection of legacy and innovation: Experiential Design Check-in

Roles
Director/Writer………………….. Max Harberg
Designer/User Experience……. Greg Gonzalez
Designer/User Interactions….... Wei-Ting Huang

Intro
Welcome to a world where virtual meets physical, and history meets present! Time travel is
possible, and we will show you how it’s done. We not only want to tap into your memory and
remind you why there is so much love for this remarkable annual event but introduce you to the
future of live entertainment. You’ll become immersed in a live show, interactive artifacts, social
and network opportunities, and so much more. It’s time to redefine a familiar phrase: “The show
must go on!”

Elevator Pitch
The SXSW Showcase: An intersection of legacy and innovation

Digital Media Value Map

The Flow (UI / UX)
Participants will enter the building and step into a large lobby area with a bar, concession stands
(food trucks), and a gift shop. Food and drinks served will be from local Austin establishments.
Merchandise will represent past SXSW designs and items specific to this experience. There will
be a ticketing area and three paths. The path to the left will enter the museum, the path to the
right will be the flow of museum visitors back into the entrance area. The museum itself will be a
structure that goes around the holodome like a ring. The holodome will be accessible through
doors directly across from the front entrance. There will be a large marquee displaying
showtimes. The dome’s entire experience will last approximately 30 minutes with 15 minutes to
fill with the audience and 15 minutes to empty between shows allowing for a clean-up and reset.

Attendees who wish to wait can linger in the lobby can eat, drink, peruse the gift shop or take the
tour.

Museum Tour (approximately 60-75 minutes)

The museum tour will feature highlights from the development of SXSW. As the participant
explores the museum, they will travel from the beginning of the festival to its current state.

The first portion will showcase the Austin Music Awards winners, The Austin Music hall of
Fame, official posters, wristbands, badges, and shirts from all events, showcasing the brand’s
evolution and designs.
Participants will travel through a showcase displaying the festival’s inception (1987-1990). There
will be videos, text, photos, and footage that include interviews and stories about the founding of
SXSW. Additionally, there will be featured physical relics.

The following section will display the music festival’s evolution as more established artists, such
as Willie Nelson and Rosanne Cash, participate in conference programming. There will also be a
feature display on Governor Ann Richards, the 1993 keynote speaker who was very involved in
leading the event.

Next, participants will learn about the introduction of the film (1994) and interactive (1996)
portions of the festival. This will include keynotes, press clips, relics, and an iconic Johnny Cash
performance.

Moving along, participants will explore 1997-2000, which signifies the festival's development
into a relevant cultural phenomenon. The audience will see credible keynotes, panelists, and film
showcases becoming a part of the festival. An iconic experience from this era was the Flaming
lips “Parking lot experiment” experience.

Next, the 2001-2003 showcase will include the first flat-stock show poster and an iconic poster
art exhibit.

The 2004-2007 exhibit will show SXSW beginning to solidify itself as a culturally relevant
event. The festival began hosting Rock ‘n Roll icons. The exhibit will feature Neil Young,
Robert Plant, Little Richard, and Pete Townsend’s performances. Additionally, we’ll show the
inaugural Twitter launch of 2007.

2008-2010 highlights SXSW Accelerator’s introduction - the tech startup branch. Foursquare,
Gowalla & Uber were significant components of this initial launch. SXSW finally became an
established launch pad for new technology, not just music, art, and film.

2011-2014 will feature the launch of SXSWedu (2011), startup village (2012), and the Gaming
Awards (2014).

2015-2019 will feature the incorporation of political speakers. The Obamas, Elizabeth Warren,
and Bernie Sanders were the first to start this trend.

Next, we will show the 2020 Covid-19 shutdown and its impact on the Austin and entertainment
industry. Interactive installations will display infographics and testimonials.
Lastly, there will be a 2021 SXSW exhibit that will show the online offerings. This will include
interactive AR/VR immersive experiences. Participants can witness these using large panoramic
screens to simulate VR immersion.

It’s important to note that each exhibit will include artist lineups from each showcased year. We
will incorporate QR technology so the audience can download playlists that include the artist’s
music.
Hologram/Projection Dome Auditorium Performance (30-35 minutes)
From the main entrance area, attendees can enter thru doors underneath the marquee into the
projection dome auditorium. This large round room will have space to accommodate 500 people
with a large elevated stage at one end opposite the entry doors. When they enter, the projection
dome will show the Austin skyline as though this dome was located in the congress Street
bridge’s center at sunset. This iconic location is where locals and tourists come to see the
Mexican Freetail bats as they fly out from under the bridge at dusk. The Texas capitol, UT tower,
sparkling skyline, ladybird lake, and south Austin will be featured.

The stage will have video walls framing the center area with a drum set and musical equipment
flanking this open center area in front of the video wall. When the event begins, the sun will set,
and the sky will darken and then transform into the interior of Austin club Emo’s, complete with
a projection of era attired fans. A hologram of Johnny Cash will appear on a stool and play a
song from his iconic set in 1994.
Johnny Cash will fade, and a hologram MC will appear, welcoming everyone to the event and
giving a short spiel about the experience. The projection dome will transform back to the 1994
Austin skyline in 1994. While he is talking, an actual band (not a hologram) will appear on stage
and take positions with musical equipment. After the hologram finishes, he will disappear, and
Tom Waits’ hologram will emerge. The projection dome and video walls will change to reveal
the inside of the Paramount theater. The Tom Waits hologram will perform a song from his 1998
performance with the band before exiting.

Again, the MC appears to tell more stories and potentially engages with the audience. The dome
again reverts to the Austin skyline as it transforms into the 2001 skyline. While the MC speaks,
the band leaves the stage to change their costume. The drummer returns, and the Host/MC
disappears. Jack White’s hologram appears and performs a song from The White Stripes concert
in 2001. The projection dome again changes, revealing the interior of Austin Club Fat Tuesdays.
After the songs, Jack White disappears.

The MC again appears to give more historical context, while the rest of the band files onto the
stage. The MC describes the launch of Twitter in 2006/2007 at SXSW. Again, while the host
speaks, the Austin skyline transforms before changing to the La Zona Rosa club’s interior. Amy
Winehouse appears on stage and performs a song from her show in 2007.

As she plays, tweets, social media posts, and videos of the original performance begin to fill the
projection dome’s sky. The effect symbolizes the emergence of social media. When Amy is done,
we hear a soulful shout. Instead of bringing back the MC, we launch ahead to another
performance from La Zona Rosa, this time from 2013 with a Prince hologram. Prince proceeds
to do a snog while tweets and posts continue to fill the dome. These performances combined
with emphasized lighting will raise the intensity of the experience and continue building the
show with added layers of surprise.

After this massive display, the projection dome will transform once again into the Austin skyline.
As it changes, the sun will set, and the lights will dim to provide a sense of intimacy. After
another MC speech, the scene transforms once again into the iconic 2018 Billie Eilish
performance under the Lustre Pearl tent. The performance includes wild lasers and psychedelic
effects. As she concludes her song, she vanishes, and the host appears one last time.

The dome goes black, and the MC is all that is visible. The host thanks everyone for coming,
discusses the present, and speculates the future. The projection dome again comes to life,
revealing a hologram of Beyonce (or trending artist) performing a new song. The projection
dome goes crazy to display the technology’s visual and immersive possibilities.
After this final performance, we return to the starting point, Congress street bridge, this time at
sunrise to symbolize a new day. Attendees then exit back into the lobby with the option to
purchase merch. There is a hologram photo booth to prompt participants to take a picture and tag
the event on their way out.

Affordances
● Museum
○ Self-Paced
 ○ Participants have agency to try different installations or skip those that don’t
interest them
○ Physical items and digital representations will both be included
○ Audio tours, written descriptions, videos, multimedia formats increase
accessibility and appeal to different types of people
○ Content can be more informative and can include bonus information/
downloadable playlists or interaction through mobile devices
○ Rotating exhibits can be updated regularly
○ Lobby with bar and concessions allows for social interaction
○ Attendees can interact with exhibits, take photos or discuss amongst each other
○ Not affected by weather
○ Requires construction
○ Doesn’t require special devices (mobile/laptop/VR headset) to interact
● Projection dome
○ Can recreate different locations and times without needing physical “props”
○ Flexible format can display realistic, hyper-realistic, abstract and surrealistic
realities
○ Projections not just limited to objects, can include text and animated figures
○ Immersive construction allows for 360 degrees of experience
○ May not be ideal acoustically for performances
○ Flashing lights/effects might cause adverse reactions amongst some
participants
○ Space and stage can be reused for live performances without hologram
element
○ Doesn’t require special devices (mobile/laptop/VR headset) to interact
● Hologram
○ Allows for repeated performance by “stars”
○ Holograms mobility limited to central area of stage
○ Not true 3D holograms but illusion of depth using “pepper’s ghost” technique and
3D modeling projection
○ Performances will be same every time, no improvisation or interaction with
audience/band members
○ May be difficult/expensive to secure rights to songs/likeness from artists
○ Hologram performers can be updated and shows can be circulated from
cache of famous SXSW performances over the years
○ Controversial using celebrity likenesses oftentimes after they have passed
○ Audience must be lower than stage for effect to work properly
○ Doesn’t require special devices (mobile/laptop/VR headset) to interact
Conclusion
SXSW has always been the event that welcomes and inspires people worldwide. It has grown
into a community that connects the SXSW fans as family. As the pandemic interrupted the
world, SXSW was forced to cancel and move online, making people miss what they have
experienced in the past SXSW events. Fans discussed it all over the internet, wanting to go back
to the "good old days" while hesitating to accept the new form of SXSW. However, people
forget one of the most inspiring things about SXSW: it never stops moving forward. Starting
from a gig in someone's tiny backyard, SXSW continues to grow and improve, surprising us with
the most progressive ideas, music, films, and technologies every year. While cherishing history,
we should celebrate that we are moving one step forward to the future just as we had always
been.

Thus, we decided to create a time-traveling experience that bridges the past and the future of
SXSW, letting people look forward to the future of SXSW while cherishing its past legacy.

Firstly, we want to showcase the history by a walk through the interactive SXSW history
museum. It is a ring-shaped space that surrounds the stadium, demonstrating iconic objects from
different eras and interactive touch screens for people to explore. By going through this section
of the experience, people could understand and cherish the unique festival's legacy and its deep
roots in Austin culture.

After the historical experience, we want to introduce the future technology to people by building
a 3D projection performance to bring back their favorite SXSW moment. That one show people
always talk about on the internet, that legendary moment you always want to see, can all be
found right here. By connecting the happy memories with new performance technologies, we
invite people to explore the positive side of SXSW and welcome the bright future of the new
digital-physical SXSW era.