One of the key areas of our new site is the featured work slot on the home page. To showcase our most recent project for Virgin Media we decided to produce an interactive 3D phone, using PaperVision3D, a short video of the application, and a phone model produced in Cinema 4D.
And so began a long period of experimentation. Having not used PV3D with models before (previous projects had been produced through crafty combinations of the inbuilt primitives rather than importing models), we were unsure where to pitch the level of model complexity vs Flash responsiveness in order to get the best user experience. Very soon it became clear that the simpler the model and the more responsive the Flash the better, even if the model suffered slightly because of it. We also learnt that with a smart combination of pre-baked lighting on the more complex parts of the model, and dynamic lighting in PV3D on simpler parts, you can create a very immersive experience with as little processor drain as possible.
Kodak’s award-winning television advertisement has been turned into an interactive experience by Pushbutton.
When viewers press the red button during the TV commercial they are taken to an interactive zone where they can explore product information about Kodak’s latest range of EasyShare cameras and accessories, take part in a picture competition, learn about the latest promotional offers from Kodak, or view the delightful, and award winning ‘gallery’ video.
The interactive advert’s UI design was closely aligned with the feel and theme of the linear spot. Users were immediately drawn into an environment where they could explore, with some great video content available from the outset. A full-length version of Kodak’s award-winning linear ad was included in the application, so users could watch it again at any time.
In the run-up to Christmas, Kodak were particularly pleased with the inclusion of high-quality 3D models; seeing the cameras from all angles was the next-best thing to handling them in a shop, and a great way to get across the robust quality of the product.
Finally, users were prompted to sumbit their contact details via a fun “face matching” game; easy enough for anybody to play, and nicely aligned with Kodak’s brand.
It all begins with a conversation, usually because someone has told someone else that they should talk to Pushbutton. We talk to and work with people from the biggest media companies, and we help them to create user-focused, interactive solutions.
We speak the language of TV production, user experience and commercial imperatives. We are a deeply technical as well as a strongly creative company, but our strongest focus is always on our clients objectives, and we try to contain our natural exuberance for the technical and creative tools we employ. Above all, we are always listening and learning, and we believe understanding our clients needs is the key to successful development.
Our experience spans interactive TV, Yahoo TV Widgets, IPTV, interactive advertising, Flash and Microsoft Mediaroom, website design and build. This breadth of knowledge helps us navigate clients through the bewildering maze of interactive opportunities that confront them.
Take a look at our client list.
We love it. To understand how a great user interface (UI) can work, you need to develop a deep understanding of the user and the end technology on which the UI will be deployed. We create UI’s that are easy to use, visually rich, and performant. We design interfaces for touch screens, remote controls, pointers, and of course PCs and Macs.
Have a browse through our work.
Our in-house team of designers and developers work collaboratively on projects, and work with a myriad of languages, platforms and environments.
Take a look at our blog to get a better feel for our skills.
2010 – Apps for connected devices, Sony, LOVEFiLM and Deutsch Telekom
In our busiest year ever, Deutsch Telekom awarded Pushbutton a prize in its search for a Media Room app, LOVEFiLM selected Pushbutton as development partner to design and build its Sony connected TV app. Pushbutton has continued to invest in market research and development for connected devices, 3D-powered TV services, and internet–based interactive TV content platforms.
From a position of market dominance in satellite-based interactive television services, Pushbutton has moved decisively into the market for internet-based interactive TV services and has quickly established a reputation as the ‘go to’ digital agency in London for design and build of apps for connected TVs.
We look forward to 2011 with great anticipation. Out creative and technical footprint is greater than at any time in our history – and we look forward to working with our partners to design and build the TV of the future.
2009 – the Microsoft prize guys
Pushbutton’s intensive research and development into new platforms for TV interactivity starts to pay off – with a second place prize in Microsoft’s global search for an app to run on its Media Room TV platform.
2008 – Turner and ESPN join client list
New clients kept Pushbutton busy in 2008, with an interactive portal for Turner’s children’s channels in the UK, and a broadband portal for ESPN 360 Europe (built in partnership with Entriq).
Building on its long history of working with online interactive betting applications, Pushbutton developed two TV-based slot machines for Sky Bet. Later in the year, work started on a major project to design andbuild an IPTV-based betting platform for a leading UK bookmaker.
2007 – Disney channel goes interactive
Two events dominated 2007 for Pushbutton – the launch of an interactive portal for Disney Channel UK, and relocation of the company to a London base.
The Disney Channel UK contract was won in a competitive tendering process against stiff competition. In a modest amount of bandwidth, Disney was able to offer its viewers a huge collection of fun interactive content and games that coul quickly and easily be re-skinned to promote the latest big show.
2005 and 2006 – Guinness, Kodak, Nat Geo channel, Sky and ITV
The 2006 World Cup provided the ideal opportunity for Pushbutton to deploy its powerful content management system for the first time, to drive the interactive supporting ITV’s World Cup coverage.
Interactive TV advertisements for Kodak and Guinness were broadcast on Sky, earning major kudos for the company. The Guinness iAd raised the bar creatively for the sector by assembling Guinness-standard video assets to use in an interactive TV ad, an industry first.
National Geographic Channel’s ‘red button’ service was Pushbutton’s first channel-wide interactive portal for a major broadcaster. With a small bandwidth overhead it provided NGC with a platform to promote premieres, offer competitions, votes, and sign-up to viewers’ club.
A lot of the work we do involves building PC/Mac based demos of planned interactive TV services. The most common requirement when building these is to simulate the buttons found on a standard TV remote, using a computer keyboard (so R is mapped to the red button on the remote, Enter is mapped to the select/ok button on the remote, etc).
This isn’t a difficult task to accomplish using standard keyboard event handlers, but it’s not a particularly nice way to do it. Also, new mappings will often need to be added at a late stage in the project (e.g. mapping Space to select, in addition to Enter), or support will need to be added for soft key codes for a mobile demo, or any number of other complications. To streamline this process, we came up with the InputController class.
© Pushbutton 2010