VML launches ‘We See Saw’ installation at Vivid

Digital agency VML joins the roster of architects and artists for Vivid Festival 2013, winning funding for their own interactive display of light and motion for this year’s festival.

The installation, dubbed ‘We See Saw’, sees three see-saws lit with motion based LEDs in turn controlling a brightly coloured 7m x 2.5m curved digital display creating a huge collaborative play environment.

The project is the result of months of planning, creative, technology and logistical work from the VML team in Sydney, with the installation becoming instantly one of the most popular over the opening weekend of the Vivid festival, with huge crowds queuing up for their turn on the seesaws.

Aden Hepburn, managing director and creative head of VML, says he’s been amazed by the reactions to the installation so far.

Says Hepburn: “Everyone seems to be loving it. Seesaws invoke that feeling of nostalgia, bringing back those childhood memories of fun and play. We really wanted ‘We See Saw’ to give everyone the chance to be a kid again, even if it’s for just a minute or two… The installation has been unbelievably crowded since Friday night, with kids and adults alike just having a ball.”

The seesaws are fitted with a range of sensors including pressure switches, gyros and accelerometers, which control the strips of LEDs on the side of each seesaw and the colour, strength, rhythm and oscillation of the designs displayed on the curved screen.

The installation comes on the back of an enormous period of growth for VML, who have more than doubled the size of their Sydney office over the last few months, now with over 60 staff.

Hepburn says his team has relished the opportunity to create something purely for enjoyment.

Says Hepburn: “It’s not often you get to create something like this just for fun, just for the benefit of your staff and your agency culture. VML has a track record of tangible, real-world digital work for our clients, but having the freedom to make something just for ourselves, that the general public can enjoy, is a real pleasure.”

This year’s Vivid Festival is the biggest yet, with installations this year stretching from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour and organizers are expecting to draw more visitors to the city than ever before, with millions of people expected to either experience the Festival of Light, Music and Ideas first hand in the city or online.