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LOCKDOWN PROJECTS: NORTHHOUSE CREATIVE The video content studio turned digital show designers fuse augmented reality with visual FX amid the lockdown of live events.
Despite being best known for their video content design and direction exploits, following the ban on mass gatherings, NorthHouse Creative has spent the past seven months exploring new avenues. This includes virtual real-time technology, moving efficiently into show design and creating space for a series of lockdown projects – born out of restrictions faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of the live events industry. “We had just finished Lewis Capaldi’s tour in March when the lockdown hit. From then, all the shows and projects in our diary gradually began to ebb away,” Creative Director and Founder of NorthHouse, Tom Bairstow began. “We’ve been fortunate enough that we can shift and adapt our work to suit the temporary virtual and digital era. I really feel for those who aren’t as fortunate in the events world. There is lots of talent going to waste so I hope that we get back to normality soon.” From an outside perspective, NorthHouse’s exploration into augmented and extended reality could be interpreted as far removed from the design
studio’s usual output with the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Little Mix and Coldplay live tours. Albeit framed by the immense challenge of a team working remotely, Bairstow assured TPi: “It was a natural progression. We use software such as Unreal Engine and Notch to a certain degree but with time, we’ve developed and reformed our capabilities.” Beneficiaries of NorthHouse’s diversified skillset was The Green Carpet Fashion Awards (GCFA). Organised by Italian fashion body, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and sustainability consultancy, Eco Age, GCFA typically presents a star-studded celebration of sustainability in the fashion industry during Milan Fashion Week. As with most live events this year, the Awards’ ethos of togetherness was put to the test by COVID-19, upheld by a revolutionary show designed by NorthHouse. The show was directed by Giorgio Testi and produced by Livia Firth and Pulse Films. NorthHouse provided a turnkey solution, incorporating cinematic footage with augmented reality, visual FX and hologram technology provided by AHRT Media, all of which helped transform a 16
