Our installation at the Petersen was part of Microsoft’s Strategic Partnerships ongoing Arts & Culture program, helping empower institutions to engage visitors in meaningful ways using technology. The goal with this installation was to create a mixed reality experience to link two of the vehicles within the Petersen Automotive Museum’s exhibit, "Hollywood Dream Machines," and allow visitors to move between the cars and get a closer look at many of their details using the HoloLens headset. We had a budget of $550,000.00 and 6 months to work with Microsoft, the Petersen, and the vehicles’ IP holders (Halo & "Back to the Future") to craft this experience.

“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” So says Doc Brown in "Back to the Future," and thanks to Microsoft’s HoloLens, he’s right. "Hollywood Dream Machines: Worlds Reimagined" immersed auto, film, and gaming fans in two iconic vehicles, no driver’s license required. Using Microsoft’s HoloLens headset, we transported visitors at the Petersen Automotive Museum to the worlds of Halo and "Back to the Future." Our mixed reality experience enhanced an existing installation at the Petersen, which featured both the Warthog and the DeLorean Time Machine. After donning a HoloLens, guests got up close and personal with both vehicles, unlocking new content, context, and info; Guilty Spark served as a guide to the Warthog and its surrounding 'Ring,' while Bob Gale, co-creator of "Back to the Future," showed guests around the Time Machine and its various modifications — including the famous FluxCapacitor.

Our target was a millennial/Gen Z movie buff, gamer, or automotive enthusiast, crossed with Microsoft’s Tech Active target, a millennial/Gen Z early adopter. By partnering with both the Petersen and Comic-Con, we could confidently reach our target audience: We netted 30 million impressions across that specific demographic.

We worked closely with Petersen and their curatorial team to determine which vehicles to create a mixed reality experience around. Considerations around guest traffic and throughput, car positioning, HoloLens tracking capabilities, and IP (since these vehicles were all featured in either a TV show, film, or video game) were tantamount. Once we landed on the Warthog and the DeLorean Time Machine, we scripted a mixed reality experience that would build a holographic world around them and allow guests to get a more detailed look at the vehicles. Collaborating with 343 Studios (creators of Halo) and Bob Gale (co-creator of "Back to the Future"), we were able to devise an experience that was true to both titles and would excite fans of both franchises. The voice actor who portrays Guilty Spark, and Bob Gale himself recorded the voiceover that would become the narrative for the experience. Meanwhile, we designed a custom kiosk for the HoloLens’, mimicking the futuristic automotive stylings of the exhibit, as well as a unique brand identity for "Hollywood Dream Machines: Worlds Reimagined." The exhibit opened to the public in May of 2019, with campaign support from Microsoft, Petersen, Comic-Con, Halo, and more.

From an engagement and throughput angle, this experience ranks in the top 5 HoloLens experiences Microsoft has ever produced. It’s also one of the top 5 most trafficked exhibitions in the Petersen’s history, proving that our work was both exciting and engaging to visitors. We meaningfully connected these fan-favorite vehicles in a new way for guests, while showcasing Microsoft’s mixed reality technology, which many visitors were using for the very first time. We were able to challenge notions of storytelling and the museum experience itself.