Campaign Spotlight: IDFA uses AI to prove we all see documentaries differently

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS — World’s leading independent documentary film festival, IDFA, launches ‘Perspectives Are Beautiful’, a campaign created by WE ARE Pi that uses stunning AI-powered artwork to celebrate how we all see documentaries differently.

Created in-house by WE ARE Pi in collaboration with installation artists collective Circus Family, the campaign used a bespoke AI scanning algorithm to analyse documentaries being showcased at the 2021 festival and transform them into Rorschach-based art.

“We best know Rorschach as a psychological test where people are asked to examine inkblots and share their interpretation of what they see. Famously, people often see wildly different things in the same image,” says WE ARE Pi Design Director Seth Josephs. “We wanted to take what people love and know about Rorschach art and use it in the context of film. Because much like viewing a film, there is never one perspective, but many.”

Seth Josephs, Design Director, WE ARE Pi, adds, “We best know Rorschach as a psychological test where people are asked to examine inkblots and share their interpretation of what they see. Famously, people often see wildly different things in the same image. We wanted to take what people love and know about Rorschach art and use it in the context of film. Because much like viewing a film, there is never one perspective, but many.”

To create the campaign, an AI parametric algorithm scanned the films colour brightness/luminance, duration, and location. The Data was then translated into ink patterns with a specially constructed robot that released the ink patterns into a tank of water. By mirroring these explosions of colour, the machine created stunning dynamic Rorschach Inkblots. In the campaign film, these explosions can be seen building up to a crescendo of visual splendour.

The ‘Perspectives Are Beautiful’ campaign is a continuation of IDFA’s partnership with WE ARE Pi, and the film festival’s ambition to elevate its position as an artistic institution within the documentary space. It follows last year’s “Real Emotions. Real Film.”, which explored the beautiful range of human emotions by putting tears under the microscope. This year’s campaign rolls out in cinema, social, print, outdoor, and PR.

CREDITS

IDFA

WE ARE Pi

Production