The Top Gear Lap

Each audience member was given a special card on arrival, which they used to turn the virtual car left and right by showing one side or the other to the stage. The speed of the car was controlled by the amount of noise the audience made (i.e. scream to go faster!). The infamous Top Gear test track was modelled in 3D in all its glory by the team at Inition using TV footage from the show, satellite data and a few hundred stills taken by us around the track. We then gave it some extra spice by introducing elements from the Top Gear TV shows; the Reliant Robin Space Shuttle, caravan conkers, car catapults and the Stig all putting in an appearance.

 

The live interactive experience

First, a practice session helped the audience grasp the controls: how to be quiet to slow down and make it around the sharpest bends; and how to make as much noise as possible on the straights. As the countdown to the lap started there was a deafening roar: five thousand people shouting to reach top speed whilst "voting" to turn left into the first bend and find the racing line.

Jeremy and the presenters egged on the racers as they crashed through tyre walls, picked up speeding penalties and tried to get the ultimate "go faster pimped up Lacetti ride" by collecting Stig helmets placed on the track. After crossing the finishing line, in the best tradition of the TV show, Clarkson kept the audience waiting in anticipation to find out where they had come on the leaderboard in relation to other audiences... each audience represented by a photograph of one of the audience members who had their picture taken by Jeremy after the lap. The show will travel the world with each audience given the chance to beat the others and become the ultimate Top Gear Lap champions of the world.

 

Using the same tracking technology, the famous Top Gear Cool Wall was given a "democratic" makeover allowing the public to vote on whether cars were "cool" or "uncool" for the first time. A huge interactive image of the Cool Wall allowed the audience to watch as their collective decision was made. Then in typical Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson style the presenters could override the audience if they disagreed with them (this happened a lot!).

 

The whole project was completed in-house at Inition in two months, from first concepts to going live at Earls Court. It has now been seen by 50,000 people and will go on to entertain over 350,000 people world-wide in the coming year. After London, the show continues on to Birmingham, Dublin, Sydney, Auckland, Hong Kong and Johannesburg.

Inition developed the image recognition and gaming technology drawing on our background in real-time 3D and video processing. The custom software runs on PCs backstage fed by digital cameras looking at the audience. We believe it may hold a record for the largest audience to play a live interactive game together.
 
For more information or to see live how Inition can bring interactive magic to your audience, contact us at inition@inition.co.uk or call +44 207 613 5004.