Adelaide City Council, in partnership with Rundle Mall, Adelaide Central Market and Nova, led by Lord Mayor Martin Haese, unveiled Santa in the City at Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga on Sunday 30 November.
Exclusive to Adelaide, Santa in the City provides a unique and innovative festive experience that enables family and friends to come together to actually SEE Santa and his reindeer flying around the CBD.
Created using a state of the art augmented reality (AR) technology, made available through the free ‘Christmas in the City’ app, the project is a world first for AR of this size and scale. Augmented reality is the blending of what’s actually there and animated computer generated images.
By downloading the app on a smartphone or tablet, users could see Santa and his reindeer magically appear by holding the app over big red dots located on streets through the centre of the City. These dots connect key city land marks and formed a trail between the Adelaide Central Market, the Giant Christmas Tree in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga, the Adelaide Town Hall and Rundle Mall.
Lord Mayor Martin Haese was the first to use the app on Sunday and he encouraged Adelaide families and friends to join him to discover what this exciting technology is all about.
“Augmented reality is a new technology that is evolving rapidly. Council staff have been working with local animation and production company Resin to bring the experience exclusively to Adelaide in celebration of Christmas,” said Martin.
“It’s amazing technology that children, teenagers, adults and grandparents will all enjoy – it really does bring Santa to life in a way that has never been done before. While people are trying out the app, they can also linger in the city, do some shopping and grab a bite to eat.
“This initiative is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when Council taps into local businesses and entrepreneurs to harness ideas and expertise to bring the City to life during the festive season, and make the most of what the city has to offer,” he said.
In total there were 40 locations to see Santa in the City, and each location produced a range of different Christmas animations.
Animations included reindeers grazing and presents flying in and around the Adelaide Central Market; Santa’s sleigh looping the Giant Christmas Tree in Victoria Square/ Tarntanyangga, along with reindeer grazing on grass; Rudolph waiting to catch a bus at stops along King William Street and North Terrace; and Santa and his sleigh in Rundle Mall unpacking presents around a Christmas Tree.
Lincoln Wogan, Managing Director and Partner of Resin, said he worked with a team of four talented developers to create Santa in the City with a focus on appeal for everyone in the community.
“We worked hard to provide something for the community to experience Santa in the City in an interactive way that has never been seen before in the City.”
In addition to Santa in the City, the calendar of events and activities happening in the City from 1 Dec right through to Christmas Day is jam packed.
The lights on the Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga Christmas tree will be turned on at sunset on Friday 5 December 2014 and will kick off a weekend of Christmas movies in the Square.
For further information about Christmas in the City visit christmasinadelaide.com.au.
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