MEDIA KIT
2014
OVERVIEW
PixMob is a wireless lighting technology specializing in creating
performances within an audience.
Working like a TV remote, PixMob controls wearable LED
devices using infrared light to create multicolour effects in sync
with sounds and visuals. People are literally part of the show as
each PixMob device becomes a pixel transforming the crowd
into a huge display screen, creating an immersive experience
connecting the crowd.
PixMob is a technology designed by ESKI Inc., founded in 2006
by Vincent Leclerc and David Parent. Together, they have built a
thriving company that serves an impressive roster of clients
including Tiësto, Heineken, Cirque du Soleil, Arcade Fire and
Microsoft, among many.
PixMob transforms
people into pixels, crowds become
displays
FACT SHEET
Company: ESKI Inc.
Founded: 2006
Number of Employees: 50 Head Office: 1751 Richardson, suite 5102, Montreal, QC, H3K 1G6, Canada Products / Technologies:
PixMob Impact, PixMob Lite, PixMob Pro, PixMob Video
Awards Won: •  D&AD Awards 2012 / with Radical Media for Summer into
Dust
•  Heineken Brand Building Award / For Lollapalooza •  Eventoplus Gold award / with Paraddax for Black Keys
Osheaga
Leadership: David Parent, co-founder and CEO
Vincent Leclerc, co-founder and head of creations
Over 1 million people have taken part in the PixMob
experience
Performed in 14 countries across 3 continents
Activated crowds at over 150 shows
TECHNOLOGY
PRODUCTS
PixMob can light up any object
Helicos, wristbands, balls, pendants, beads, hats … PixMob can
illuminate a plethora of devices to achieve the visual needs of
any project. Our only boundary is the imagination.
WHY PIXMOB?
CROWD ACTIVATION
Transforming people into pixels, crowds into displays. Why not infuse the show with the crowd’s energy? With PixMob, every
single crowd-member plays a role in the visual effects, taking the show
into the audience and creating a deeply engaging experience for all.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
Defying time and space. Reinventing rituals of fire
Look up and see sparking stars falling gently from the sky. Wave your
arms alongside thousands of others and be mesmerized by the waves of
colour and light spreading across the crowd in sync with the music.
Experience hundreds of people around you clapping, mimicking a field
of fireflies at night. PixMob will truly immerse you in an atmosphere you
did not expect.
VIRAL & SOCIAL
An army of virtual promoters
People will want to brag, ‘you had to be there!’ Participants become
virtual promoters by sharing their experiences on social media. The
visibility for the performers, venue and sponsors is multiplied through
their friends and contacts. In the blink of an eye, thousands of people are
brought on stage virtually, wishing they were physically there. And
promising themselves they’ll be there next time. PROLONGED USER EXPERIENCE
Timeless events
PixMob can adapt the technology embedded into each object to extend
user experience well beyond the event. PixMob can send a special
command to every single object so, for weeks afterwards, they react to
ambient music, play back a single from the artist, connect to a computer
to display a promotional website, or react when you dance. INNOVATION
PixMob Video, a new technology, an unprecedented experience
Reflecting the initial vision and purpose of PixMob, the latest
technological advancement-PixMob Video- was born from a
desire to provide richer and more extravagant visuals. PixMob’s creative technologists figured that if projecting
moving pictures to a cinema screen is possible, the same
technology could be harnessed to project data as invisible light.
This patented groundbreaking technique allows the real-time
transmission of colour information onto any number of mobile
pixels at hundreds of thousands of individual locations up to
300 meters away. As easy to use for an in-house lighting director or video
operator as it is for the engineers who developed the system,
PixMob Video is controllable via a computer. A video server
sends a video feed to a transmitter that relays instructions to
pixels at over 100,000 individual locations over wireless infrared
in real time. The pixels can then change colour and form
according to the information received, allowing the show
controller to easily design their desired lighting experience and
update it on the fly. PixMob Connect crowds
Reinvent rituals of fire
WHAT WE ARE
INVENTIVE
Our Montreal studios are hives of creativity where artists,
designers, engineers and programmers team up daily to push
back the frontiers of technology. Our goal: create extraordinary
and unprecedented experiences. Innovation also means
collaboration with exceptional partners to meet the highest
reliability and quality standards. RESPONSIVE
The power of PixMob technology is the ability to adapt to a
diverse range of projects and budgets. You want entertainment,
cultural enrichment and effective marketing and
communications? Our teams develop products that specifically
correspond to your needs. We love challenges, and we work
hard to go beyond your expectations. PROFESSIONAL
We know event management is challenging. From concept
research to integration, we bring our expertise to the table. We
deliver fully operational technology and solid installations on
time and in line with your objectives. THE DRIVING FORCE
David Parent, CEO
David leads the growth of PixMob into a global business, structuring its
development into a new kind of company spanning products, systems
and services. He spent the last decade at leading innovation teams in
order to bring new ideas, concepts and technologies to life. His first
company, TDS Network, developed electronic displays for public space.
He sold it in 2003 and founded ESKI, which became PixMob in 2014.
In 2012, the Youth Chamber and Commerce named him “Entrepreneur
of the Year”. The same year, he joined an executive education program
at the MIT Sloan School of Management with a group of selected
entrepreneurs. This complemented his bachelor degree in business from
Laval University and his work founding the school entrepreneurs’
network. In his spare time he practices kayak and telemark.
Vincent
Leclerc, Head of creations
Vincent leads PixMob’s hybrid team of design magicians and hardcore
engineers. From experience design to rapid prototyping, all the way to
mass-manufacturing, his gang is hard at work creating the future of
crowd interaction. Vincent holds a Master in Media Technologies from the legendary MIT
Media Lab. He has been designing and developing interactive
technologies for over 15 years. His work has been published in numerous
journals and magazines such as Wired, ID, ACM SIGCHI, Rhizome,
MAKE, CORE77 and more. He has taken part in several important art
exhibitions in New York, San Jose, London, Montreal, Shanghai and
Vancouver. In his spare time Vincent also teaches physical computing at
Concordia University.
PIXMOB BEGINS
Imagined in 2006, while David spent a week on the floor of
Vincent’s place at MIT in Boston, PixMob is the result of a desire
to create interactive experiences with the ability to change
human perception. PixMob takes inspiration from ancient fire rituals and modern
gatherings such as the Burning Man festival. Originally
perceived as an art form using people as pixel-bearing vessels
via the distribution of remote controlled objects, the idea
developed into a revolutionary experience with the people
themselves playing an interactive part in any live event. After two years of development, the engineers finally found a
way to make the technology commercially viable thanks to the
use of infrared. The breakthrough was made when Cirque du
Soleil’s artistic director Michel Laprise asked PixMob to provide
a groundbreaking lighting experience for their Microsoft Kinect
launch. Not many companies can say Microsoft and Cirque du
Soleil were their first clients...
From that day on, PixMob has continuously pushed the
boundaries of technological advancements, whether activating
crowds around the world with motion-sensitive objects and
multi-coloured effects, to projecting real images onto a crowd,
transforming them into a living TV screen. CLIENTS
Global Entertainment
International Artists
Producers
Consumer brands
Technology and Media companies
TESTIMONIALS
“The wristbands had the effect and impact we were hoping for. We're
very satisfied. The wristbands are truly an organic effect and I think the
absolute best way of using them is as we did in Northern Lights. That was
awesome!”
Anette Helenius / Production Manager Eurovision Song Contest
“What an incredible experience PixMob gave us! Thanks for your rapid
involvement in our project and for delivering such beautiful moments in
such an efficient way. All I want is... to do it again!”
Luci Tremblay, Director of Communications Festival d’été de Québec
“Lollapalooza’s Heineken Moment was shortlisted for The Brand Building
Award. PixMob’s team was a big part of it, couldn’t have done it without
you guys! Thank you!’’
Renata Da Silva, Project Manager Heineken Brazil
“The wristbands made the evening very
special and were highly appreciated by
the visitors. Innovative, they made the
evening special, everyone was
connected.
All the parts of the evening contributed
to a rating of 8.5 by the customers for
this events.”
Pascal Stolk, Senior Sponsor Manager
Heineken Netherlands
WE ARE GLOBAL
Heineken Star Club
Microsoft Kinect Launch
Arcade Fire
Bassnectar
We Day Black Keys
Maroon 5
Tiësto
Lollapalooza
Rock in Rio
More projects on pixmob.com Eurovision
Sensation
IN THE MEDIA
The audiovisual happenings made a difference
Ben Ratliff, THE NEW YORK TIMES
It was a stunning, otherworldly sight, and small groups of fans
were soon seen gathering round the glowing orbs all across
Coachella's vast polo fields. Steve Appleford, ROLLING STONE
The effect was striking with the balls (…) changing color in
unison. One is already listed on eBay with a buy it now price of
$999. David Bullock, WIRED
As the balloons bounced around above the audience it created a
visually stunning art piece that gave another element to the
show. Jodi Jill, EXAMINER.com
COMING SOON…
On February 28, during his performance in Hakkasan nightclub,
Las Vegas, Tiësto will be the first artist after the Super Bowl
halftime show to use the brand new PixMob Video technology.
PixMob will continue to illuminate Tiesto’s USA shows
throughout 2014 with PixMob bracelets.
Sensation is one of the world’s most spectacular dance and
music phenomena. PixMob wristbands illuminated the crowd
during the Heineken Moment at three hugely successful 2013
events Taiwan, Seoul and Bangkok. 2014 will see the next stages
of PixMob LED wristbands at more of these global events in
Bologna, St Petersburgh and Toronto. PixMob has partnered
directly with Sensation to light up more of these global events
with LED wristbands.
We Day is an educational event a movement of young people
leading local and global change. PixMob participated in the
2012 and 2013 tours with LED pendants and wristbands. We Day
teams will utilize PixMob’s groundbreaking technology and its
effects on their crowds at their forthcoming events in 2014. LINKS
CORPORATE WEBSITE
pixmob.com
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook fb.com/PixMob
Twitter
twitter.com/PixMobOfficial
Youtube
www.youtube/PixMobExperience
Vimeo
vimeo.com/PixMob
PRESS CONTACTS
Danny Payne (english)
Laetitia Bedout (french)
+1 (514) 510 5777 #230
+1 (514) 510 5777 #230
dap@pixmob.com
lb@pixmob.com
David Parent, Vincent Leclerc and Jean-Olivier Dalphond will be available for interviews. Call us : +1 (514) 510 5777 #230