The Head & The Heart
Emotional Response Concert Activation
Art Installation, Event Activation, Interactive Video
At SXSW, The Head & the Heart rocked the stage for advertising agency T3's annual bash. Biometric data, capturing the crowd's emotional pulse, powered real-time visuals on stage, transforming the concert into a fusion of music, art and technology.
Can You Measure a Band’s Emotional Impact?
We built a custom Emotional Response Display System consisting of a live stream of biometric data into a visual media system. Powered by brain waves and heartbeats of the attendees, we created a dynamic and memorable light show for the +700 guests.
BRAINWAVES
We used EEG monitors to measure the Alpha Beta Delta Gamma and Theta of concert-goers to allow us to approximate the emotional state of the guest. For hardware, we quickly moved past a custom solution (originally a hacked child's toy) and opted for the Muse 2 headband. This was a comfortable solution for the guests with minimal interference of the concert-goers, sleek modern aesthetic and an SDK.
HEART RATE
For the heartbeat sensor, we created a custom light-based solution that measured heart rate and heart rate variability by passing light through a guest’s fingertip. This allowed the system to understand the level of excitement a guest felt at the time of measurement.
DATA VISUALIZATION
Once we were able to arrive at the technical solution, the custom visual output needed to be created and mapped back to the data streams to allow the variation of inputs to generate visuals displayed around the venue. We worked with a minimal aesthetic to match the event collateral and overall vibe of the band.
Once set, we created central rules in the system for shapes and colors to be used to match this aesthetic for the performance and also provide enough variability to create unique light displays per guest.
Over 700+ concert attendees
Over 4 million data points captured in 2 hours
Average heart rate: 72.83 bpm
450,000+ brain wave inputs
After the concert, we used the data captured to create custom takeaways. Each recipient was given a concert poster with their biometric data recordings during the song that was played. It also triggered an augmented reality experience that brought the poster to life to recap the night.
And finally, we used the data captured to create 3D printed keepsakes for each person. The shapes that were represented live on screen during the show were recreated into 3-dimensions and filled with custom LED lights that matched each person's color palette.
