UNIT9

Last updated
UNIT9
Industry Interactive, Advertising, Film, Branded Content
Founded1997
Headquarters
London
,
UK
Area served
Global
Key people
Founders:
Piero Frescobaldi
Tom Sacchi
Yates Buckley
Number of employees
150+ employees
Divisions New York City, Los Angeles, London, Florence, Berlin
Website http://www.unit9.com/

UNIT9 is a multidisciplinary production company working in different interactive areas: films, games, virtual reality and digital technology. Founded in 1997, UNIT9 operates globally with offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, Florence, Berlin and Poland. [1] Directors, writers and technologists work collaboratively to create content, advertising, utility and gaming. Ad Age Production Company A-List, [2] UNIT9 partners with advertising agencies worldwide on the digital components of campaigns. [3]

Contents

Awards and recognition

UNIT9's work has been honoured with 1x Emmy, Cannes Lions, [4] 17 One Show Pencils, [5] 250+ FWA, [6] 15 Webby Awards, [7] including Winner of Best Use of Interactive Video in 2013, [8] 13 Awards, including Site of the Year (Users Choice) for Slavery Footprint, [9] Silver and Bronze Effie 2013, [10] and a BAFTA nomination. [11]

In April 2019, UNIT9 was named Ad Age's Production Company of the Year. [12]

UNIT9 Digital

Lifesaver

Lifesaver [13] is a crisis simulating app created for the UK Resuscitation Council with the goal of teaching basic CPR to users through interactivity, gamification and live-action film. Lifesaver presents users with high-stress scenarios to test their speed and efficiency in administering CPR. The option to share these results on social platforms was added to the app to promote engagement among a younger audience. [14]

Just a Reflektor

Just a Reflektor [15] is an interactive video directed by Vincent Morisset, featuring the song "Reflektor" by Canadian rock group Arcade Fire. The music video takes advantage of dual screen interactivity, allowing users to cast virtual projections with their mobile devices as the video plays in a web browser. This innovative music video is the first of its kind, allowing the viewer to transform the film visually and instantly. [16]

Slavery Footprint

Slavery Footprint is a website and mobile app that launched on the 149th anniversary of the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation. The interactive questionnaire approximates the number of real-world slaves who work to create the goods that users enjoy on a daily basis. The HTML5 survey was built to increase awareness of modern-day slavery and to inform users of their slavery footprint. [17] The project was publicly endorsed by the US President Barack Obama during his speech to the Clinton Global Initiative in 2012. [18]

Find Your Way To Oz

Find Your Way To Oz [19] is an interactive Google Chrome Experiment inspired by Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful . The game is set in a Kansas circus where players work through a series of challenges that eventually lead them to the mythical land of Oz. This project was developed as an interactive trailer for the film, utilizing innovative technology to create a 3D environment built entirely on WebGL and CSS3 platforms. [20] The game’s final sequence—including a massive tornado—was created with the use of a custom GLSL shader. An animation previously developed to map the inside of the brain cell of a mouse was used as the framework to simulate the tornado’s movement. Developers implemented a custom volumetric shader to adapt the animation while maintaining acceptable processing rates, allowing players to view the tornado from all directions. [21]

Attraction

Attraction [22] is an interactive anime directed by Koji Morimoto and Anrick Bregman, commissioned by the French Ministry of Health and targeted and educating youth on the dangers of smoking. Users interact with the story by manipulating events with their cursor and webcam, ultimately altering the flow of the story. Attraction is based in 2040 Tokyo and focuses on the journey of three Japanese children. [23] A live installation was developed in 2013 as an adaptation of Attraction. The updated installation was featured at the Electronic Language International Festival, where hundreds of users were able to interact with the story by shifting and moving their own body in a single space. UNIT9 applied motion sensor technology and immersive sound to allow the user to interact from a distance and become an active part of the story as it played on a large projection in front of them. [24]

UNIT9 Films

Working with world-class directors, UNIT9 Films specializes in live action and storytelling film content for TV, social web, mobile, installations and VR.

Barclaycard #Bespokeballads

Barclaycard: #Bespokeballads [25] was a user-generated viral video project that used the hashtag “#bespokeballads” to interact directly with Twitter followers. The project took place over the course of one week, in which songwriters wrote, performed, and recorded custom-made ballads inspired by the randomly selected Twitter feeds of users tweeting with the hashtag “#bespokeballads.” The artists also wrote songs about the latest celebrity gossips and Internet trends. In total, more than 80 songs were created. [26]

Bitchcraft

Bitchcraft [27] is a paranormal web series starring Fay Ripley. The series follows Gemma who—after losing her boyfriend and job—returns home to live with her parents. Upon arrival, she is horrified to learn that her mother has become a practicing witch. Gemma struggles to return her life to normal as she quickly realizes that the entire neighbourhood is infused with black magic. The series has been popular with young audiences, such as fans of Misfits and Merlin. [28]

Tropicana: Energie Naturelle

Tropicana: Energie Naturelle [29] is a short documentary that tells the story of an installation created in Paris for Tropicana in 2011, directed by Johnny Hardstaff. The installation connected over 2,500 oranges with zinc and copper spikes to create a full-scale billboard, with the words “Energie Naturelle” powered by 1,800 volts of electricity. The film documents the building process as well as viewer’s reactions. [30]

UNIT9 Games

Philips: You Need to Hear This

Philips: You Need to Hear This [31] was an interactive music video project in which users were able to create custom music videos for the song Carolyn, by the Swiss Lips. The videos were created based on the user’s performance in a retro-styled 8-bit racing game—their decisions in the game automatically remixed the song and generated a unique accompanying video. [32]

Domino's Pizza Hero

Domino’s Pizza Hero [33] Domino’s Pizza Hero is an interactive gaming app developed for Domino’s Pizza for use on tablet and mobile devices. Players are tasked with creating pizzas as quickly and efficiently as possible, with the top players receiving real-world job offers from Domino’s Pizza. The game is a unique and immersive approach to recruitment. Additionally, users were able to order pizzas directly from the app. [34]

MINI Maps

MINI Maps [35] is a multiplayer racing game that merges technologies from both Google Maps and Facebook. Players race against other Facebook users in a series of randomized real-world locations. The app also provides local weather data for each racing location and the option for users to custom design their own MINI. [36]

Nano Panda

Nano Panda [37] is a puzzle game developed for iOS and Android platforms. The gameplay is based on conceptual physics, heavily utilizing magnetic simulation. The main character—a panda shrunk down to nano size—is tasked with destroying evil atoms. The game won the W3 Gold Award in Mobile Applications in the Games category and was downloaded over a million times globally. [38]

Hoxton Window Project

Hoxton Window Project [39] is a public art project hosted and curated by UNIT9. Artists are invited to cover the windows of UNIT9’s Hoxton Square office with different forms of art, from graphic design to illustration to interactive displays. The Hoxton Window Project has included art from Mcbess and Jon Burgerman, among others. [40]

Related Research Articles

Interactive storytelling is a form of digital entertainment in which the storyline is not predetermined. The author creates the setting, characters, and situation which the narrative must address, but the user experiences a unique story based on their interactions with the story world. The architecture of an interactive storytelling program includes a drama manager, user model, and agent model to control, respectively, aspects of narrative production, player uniqueness, and character knowledge and behavior. Together, these systems generate characters that act "human," alter the world in real-time reactions to the player, and ensure that new narrative events unfold comprehensibly.

Dominos Pizza American multinational pizza restaurant chain

Domino's Pizza, Inc., doing business as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As of 2018, Domino's had approximately 15,000 stores, with 5,649 in the United States, 1,500 in India, and 1,249 in the United Kingdom. Domino's has stores in over 83 countries and 5,701 cities worldwide. In 2018 Domino's Pizza was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.

Alex Albrecht American tv personality, actor and podcaster

Alexander Jennings Albrecht is an American television personality, actor and podcaster. He is known for co-hosting the former G4techTV television program The Screen Savers, an hour-long computer and technology variety show, as well as the weekly podcast Diggnation and the weekday podcast The Totally Rad Show on the Revision3 network. On July 15, 2008, he released his new podcast/website Project Lore, all about World of Warcraft. Albrecht has expressed a penchant for dressing up as characters from Street Fighter, most recently appearing as Guile. He is the Head of Original Programming at Caffeine.

The Noid Animated antagonist

The Noid is an advertising character for Domino's Pizza created in the 1980s and revived in 2021. Clad in a red, skin-tight, rabbit-eared body suit with a black N inscribed in a white circle on his chest, the Noid was a physical manifestation of all the challenges inherent in getting a pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. Though persistent, his efforts were repeatedly thwarted.

Hackathon Event in which groups of software developers work at an accelerated pace

A hackathon is a sprint-like design event wherein computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers, product managers, project managers, domain experts, and others collaborate intensively on software projects.

Dominos Pizza Enterprises Australian franchise of Dominos Pizza

Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited (DPE) is the largest pizza chain in Australia in terms of network stores numbers and network sales, as well as the largest franchisee for the US Domino's Pizza brand in the world. DPE is the exclusive master franchise for the Domino's brand network in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark and Taiwan. Across these markets, DPE has over 2,800 stores. In May 2005 DPE became the first publicly listed pizza company in Australia.

Martin Percy is a director of interactive video. He has won a BAFTA British Academy Award, five Webby Awards and a Grand Clio;. He has also received three Emmy nominations, ten Webby nominations and fourteen Webby honorees.. He has created interactive video pieces for the Tate Gallery, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, British Film Institute and National Theatre, working with people including Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Gordon Ramsay, Julie Walters, Tracey Emin, Jonathan Ross and Malcolm McDowell. His interactive video pieces are integral to Tate Tracks, a marketing campaign for the Tate Gallery which won a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. His work is discussed in an interview with Betsy Isaacson for The Huffington Post. In 2014 he gave a TEDx talk about his interactive film Lifesaver.

Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain additional revenue from a title after it has been purchased, often using some type of microtransaction system.

Dominos Pizza Group UK master franchise of Dominos Pizza

Domino's Pizza Group plc is a United Kingdom-based master franchise of international fast food pizza delivery chain Domino's Pizza. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

The 2010s was the fifth decade in the industry's history. The decade was notable for producing the first truly "3D" games and consoles, introducing cloud gaming and virtual reality to consumers, and the rising influence of tablet-based and mobile casual games. The industry remained heavily dominated by the actions of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, but it remains unforeseen how their dominance will be affected by cloud gaming and the growing smartphone and tablet market.

Kik Messenger, commonly called Kik, is a freeware instant messaging mobile app from the Canadian company Kik Interactive, available free of charge on iOS and Android operating systems. It uses a smartphone's data plan or Wi-Fi to transmit and receive messages, photos, videos, sketches, mobile web pages, and other content after users register a username. Kik is known for its features preserving users' anonymity, such as allowing users to register without the need to provide a telephone number or valid email address. However, the application does not employ end-to-end encryption, and the company also logs user IP addresses, which could be used to determine the user's ISP and approximate location. This information, as well as "reported" conversations, are regularly surrendered upon request by law enforcement organizations, sometimes without the need for a court order.

Mindspark Interactive Network, Inc. was an operating business unit of IAC known for the development and marketing of entertainment and personal computing software, as well as mobile application development. Mindspark's mobile division acquired iOS application developer Apalon in 2014, which was known for popular entertainment applications such as Weather Live, Emoji Keypad, and Calculator Pro.

Construct (game engine)

Construct is an HTML5-based 2D video game engine developed by Scirra Ltd. It is aimed primarily at non-programmers, allowing quick creation of games through visual programming. First released as a GPL-licensed DirectX 9 game engine for Microsoft Windows with Python programming on October 27, 2007, it later became proprietary software with Construct 2, as well as switching its API technology from DirectX to NW.js and HTML5, as well as removing Python and adding JavaScript support and its plugin SDK in 2012, and eventually switched to a subscription-based model as a web app.

Google Now Intelligent personal assistant

Google Now was a feature of Google Search of the Google app for Android and iOS. Google Now proactively delivered information to users to predict information they may need in the form of informational cards. Google Now branding is no longer used, but the functionality continues in the Google app and its discover tab.

PlayStation 4 system software System software for the PlayStation 4

The PlayStation 4 system software is the updatable firmware and operating system of the PlayStation 4. The operating system is Orbis OS, based on FreeBSD 9.

Xbox One Home video game consoles developed by Microsoft

The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South America in November 2013 and in Japan, China, and other European countries in September 2014. It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China, specifically in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Microsoft marketed the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", hence the name "Xbox One". An eighth-generation console, it mainly competed against Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U and later the Switch.

Android Developer Day

Android Developer Days, or ADD, is an open conference held at various locations worldwide each year. The Android Developer Days conference is a growing organization that allows developers of various software and applications to showcase, observe, and participate in Android Developing events, such as informational lectures, workshops, entertainment activities, panel discussions, and networking opportunities make up a majority of the Android Developer Days. As an international leader in mobile operating systems, ADD has become increasingly popular as the center for mobile device conventions. Unofficial participants may elect to observe different booths and displays. However, in order to partake in the festivities, one must apply to join the organization. There is an assortment of ways that one is able to join the conference including exhibiting your own presentation, showcasing posters featuring developing applications, or instructing hands-on, interactive coding tutorials. In 2014, the Android Developer Days conventions had been held in Ankara, Turkey from May 16 to May 17.

<i>Pou</i> (video game) Virtual pet game

Pou is a virtual pet game for BlackBerry 10, iOS and Android developed and published by Lebanese designer Paul Salameh. It is similar to Tamagotchi, a fad game that required caring for a simulated creature.

Reflektor (song) 2013 single by Arcade Fire

"Reflektor" is a song by the Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It was released on September 9, 2013, as the first single from and the title track to the band's fourth studio album. Produced by James Murphy, Markus Dravs and the band itself, the song features a guest vocal appearance by David Bowie and was released on a limited edition 12" vinyl credited to the fictional band The Reflektors. Two music videos were made for the song, one regular and one interactive, both being released on the day of the song's release. "Reflektor" was met with positive reviews, with critics often complimenting its musical approach. It also came second in NME's list of best singles of 2013. The song had a positive commercial performance, charting in several countries.

Dominos App feat. Hatsune Miku Food delivery app launched in 2013

Domino's App feat. Hatsune Miku is a discontinued food delivery app released exclusively in Japan that was developed by Kayac and hosted by Domino's Pizza. Launched in March 2013, the app was a collaboration between Domino's Pizza Japan and Crypton Future Media, the creators and developers of the Vocaloid software voicebank Hatsune Miku. The app's functions were similar to the traditional Domino's App but had additional features themed around Hatsune Miku. The service became an Internet meme after a commercial for the service went viral on YouTube.

References

  1. ↑ "Q & A with Piero Frescobaldi of unit9 | Adobe Inspire Magazine". Adobe.com. 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  2. ↑ "Production Company A-List: Unit9". 23 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "List of 50 of the top award winning web design agencies in the world". Design-intellect.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  4. ↑ "2012 Cannes Lions 59th International Festival of Creativity" (PDF). Brandedcontent.adage.com. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  5. ↑ http://www.unit9.com/about/awards "UNIT9 Retrieved 2014-02-21"
  6. ↑ "UNIT9". TheFWA. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  7. ↑ "2013 | The Webby Awards Gallery + Archive". Winners.webbyawards.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  8. ↑ "Best Use of Interactive Video | 2013 | The Webby Awards Gallery + Archive". Winners.webbyawards.com. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  9. ↑ "unit9". Awwwards.com. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  10. ↑ "Arnold Worldwide, Mullen, Gillette win Effie awards for effective marketing". Boston.com. 2013-05-24. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  11. ↑ "British Academy Children's Awards Winners Announced - Press - The BAFTA site". Bafta.org. 2013-11-24. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  12. ↑ "Ad Age 2019 Production Company of the Year: Unit9". adage.com. 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  13. ↑ "Lifesaver". Lifesaver. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  14. ↑ "Lifesaver: A New Way To Learn CPR". UNIT9. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  15. ↑ "Vincent's "Just a Reflektor"". UNIT9. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  16. ↑ "Arcade Fire / Just a Reflektor". Justareflektor.com. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  17. ↑ "Slavery Footprint". UNIT9. 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  18. ↑ "Remarks by the President to the Clinton Global Initiative". whitehouse.gov . 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2014-03-24– via National Archives.
  19. ↑ "Find Your Way To Oz". UNIT9. 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  20. ↑ ""Find Your Way To OZ" by Walt Disney & UNIT9". Chrome Experiments. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  21. ↑ "Case Study: Find Your Way To Oz". html5rocks. 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  22. ↑ "Attraction". UNIT9. 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  23. ↑ "David Hartano: Attraction". David Hartano. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  24. ↑ "Attraction: Live". UNIT9. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  25. ↑ "Barclaycard: #BespokeBallads". UNIT9. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  26. ↑ "Barclaycard teams up with Dare for digital campaign". Campaignlive.co.uk. 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  27. ↑ "Bitchcraft". UNIT9. 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  28. ↑ "Bitchcraft". Web Series Channel. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  29. ↑ "Tropicana: Energie Naturelle". UNIT9. 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  30. ↑ "French Tropicana ad is powered by oranges". Adweek. 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  31. ↑ "Philips: You Need To Hear This". UNIT9. 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  32. ↑ "Ogilvy's Remix Game for Philips". shots.net. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  33. ↑ "Domino's Pizza Hero (Case Study)". YouTube. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  34. ↑ "Domino's Pizza Hero". UNIT9. 2011-11-19. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  35. ↑ "MINI Maps". UNIT9. 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  36. ↑ "unit9: MINI Maps". Advertising Age. 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  37. ↑ "Nano Panda". UNIT9. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  38. ↑ "Nano Panda Is A Wacky Science-Themed Game That Packs A Lot Of Fun". appsadvice. 2011-05-02. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  39. ↑ "The Hoxton Window Project". UNIT9. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  40. ↑ "I depend on me - Hoxton Window Project - UNIT9 London". I Depend On Me. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.