WYOMING TOURISM
BVK came to us to create a Snapchat lens for Wyoming tourism. This lens puts users on the back of a horse. The horse gallops, walks, and heels with the user's movements, all while whinying, shaking its mane, and twitching its ears. This project was both fun and a challenge; we were excited to jump in the saddle, and we even delivered a few surprises along the way.
Our approach to the work was informed by our extensive background in CGI and production technology. The agency came to us, familiar with our reputation for high quality photorealism. While another studio perhaps would've started by using Lens Studio, Snapchat's backend, user-friendly lens creator, we started from our area of expertise, and used Lens Studio throughout to check in on our progress.
PRODUCTION | LOOK DEV
A lens so robust has never been done before on Snapchat, which has an 8 megabyte limit. We found efficiencies to make the horse as small as possible, in order to maximize quality. We sacrificed the back half of the horse, focusing on creating as realistic a horseback rider POV as possible.
Our horse's mane was our main focus, as it takes up most of the screen. Photoreal hair movement would be a challenge, but we strived to make it happen. Each strand of hair was a polygon of data, and each one would bring us closer to Snapchat's space limit. Our great 3D artists solutioned this problem by treating the hair like a texture, rather than geometry. This hair simulation allowed for movement to achieve the desired higher quality.
PRODUCTION | ANIMATION CYCLES
We created an interactive lens. When you stand still, the horse is idle; when you walk, he trots, and as you increase speed, the horse gallops. Though Snapchat removed the functionality to show users how fast they're going (a safety measure), we were able to use other resources to recreate what the accelerometer would do.
Even as he idles, the horse is in movement, with realistic ear twitches and head shakes. Our creatives, who come from a rural background, were able to provide specific feedback — such as if the horses ears were turned too far back, it suggests an agitated state.
PRODUCTION | MANE ANIMATION TEST
PRODUCTION | LENS DEVELOPMENT
FINAL
We surprised the agency with sound effects, after finding such an efficient solution that we had space left over. The horse gives a majestic whiny; you can hear the exciting clomp of his hooves as he takes off into a gallop, which all add to the experience and realism of our lens.