Dec 2024
Outernet Takeover - Diriyah: Oasis of Time
The sun dips behind Soho Square, throwing Charing Cross Road into chilly dusk. Smoke-laced air prickles against the crush of commuters, tourists, and shoppers disgorging from Tottenham Court Road tube station. Secreted away amid the hustle and bustle of central London is a luxurious oasis, breathtaking in scale, rich in history, and teeming with possibility.
Welcome to Diriyah, City of Earth, and Saudi Arabia’s premier lifestyle destination and a vibrant manifestation of the Kingdom’s heritage and culture.
VCCP Media called on Chrome to take on one of our greatest challenges yet: transporting the heart and soul of Saudi Arabia straight to The Outernet – London’s ultimate digital playground. In just five short weeks, we teamed up with our amazing partners Immersive Me and The Manual to bring this to life. The brief was simple: drive awareness of Diriyah’s development and endless potential as a city – both honouring its past and looking to the future. The execution…not as simple!
Watch the case study film here.
As the lead production partner, we got to work straight away, creating a concept that would immerse viewers in Saudi culture and allow them to experience the magic of Diriyah. Many iterations later, we decided to create an oasis in the centre of London, anchored on the concept Oasis of Time, an immersive installation that uses the timeless energy of the Saudi starry night sky to create an oasis which can travel through time and culture.
“It was a privilege to work with a UNESCO World Heritage site like Diriyah and to partner with an exciting agency like VCCP Media to create a truly unique immersive experience in London.”
- Mark Wilson, Executive Producer at Chrome
Once Oasis of Time was born, we teamed up with Immersive Me, whose brilliant content creation and creative skills were woven through every aspect of this project – from the screens greeting visitors in the entryway to the smaller portal windows showcasing stills and commercial content of Saudi Arabia. Their talent, agility, and ingenuity brought the City of the Earth to life in all its sun-drenched glory.
The screens, however, were just one aspect of the 360-degree experience Chrome wanted to provide visitors with. To truly immerse people in Diriyah for a few hours we needed some set design experts, enter our other unbelievable partner, The Manual.
“The idea was to create a celebration of Diriyah's heritage and future, navigating viewers through eras of rich history, Saudi cultural icons and surreal Diriyahn touchpoints without leaving their majlis seats. We wanted to give people a truly unique experience, for a moment we wanted them to feel like they were really in Diriyah.”
– Andrea Ramirez Armada, Creative Director at Chrome.
The Manual were responsible for building out a physical space to complement the brilliant work on screen created by our other teams. As the event production partners, they designed and created the set across the main activation spaces. Taking inspiration from the exciting Diriyah development, the team brought the new landmark city to life, replicating with exact precision Diriyah’s unmistakable design style.
In addition to directing all the onscreen content, Chrome also coordinated all the logistics related to this large-scale event that struck all the senses: the sight of an Arabian evening, the robust aroma of Arabic coffee, the sweetness of a sugared date, the lilting tune of an oud, and the feeling of absolute relaxation after sinking into a plush pouf. This meant organising dancers, musicians, calligraphers, and other traditional artisans who performed and provided endless entertainment for children and adults alike.
“Chrome Productions is an incredible partner. There was such a vibe, and from the beginning, we knew we were creating something truly special, both within the experience and the partnership.”
– Leigh Fergus, Client Services Director at Immersive Me.
Over three days, we took over the entire Outernet building. Thirteen monumental screens showcased the vibrant Saudi Arabian culture: music, dance, and cuisine all within a border-defying experience. The 360-degree visuals projected the sand-baked walls – carved straight from the Earth – surrounding the UNESCO World Heritage site, the proud clusters of palm trees, and an animated shower of stars crashing across the deep cobalt Arabian night.
The 10-minute journey in the Now Building brought to life the history and import of this gorgeous location, from a bright, brisk morning in Wadi Hanifa to a crystal-clear evening in Al-Bujairi. The many visitors who stayed through the entire loop (more than once too!) witnessed a tour de force of storytelling through CGI, motion design, music and animation: traditional calligraphy looping around the space, palm fronds fluttering in the morning breeze, and a celestial Arabian steed that shattered into a stunning falcon zipping across the night sky in a maelstrom of light and sound.
“People felt that they had stepped straight out of London’s Tottenham Court Road, and directly into a breathtakingly beautiful Diriyah square, lined with authentic Najdi-style architecture, textiles and lighting.”
– Saraid Murphy, Project Director at The Manual
Users relaxed in traditional seating, staring up at the sky and sipping steaming hot Arabic coffee. Those interested in diving deeper into this visionary city pored over a 6-metre model of Diriyah in the Now Trending building, the execution of which included intricate 3D-projection mapping.
Other curious visitors could walk around the space and immerse themselves in a colourful room adorned with traditional Al-Saud weaving patterns as they heard the soothing sounds of the oud and had their name written in traditional Arabic calligraphy. The little ones (and big ones too) could take a stab at a motion capture Run-Around-Diriyah game or look at themselves in traditional Saudi wear. And if you happen to just be walking by you could serendipitously happen on a surreal tunnel on Denmark Street full of Najdi doors that opened to give you glimpses of Saudi’s magical traditions.
“Bringing Diriyah’s rich culture to life on Outernet’s incredible 28,000-canvas was a fun challenge. Immersing ourselves in the history and seeing how audiences responded, with gasps [and applause], lost in a moment…made it all worth it. Watching people stop and feel something in such a unique space reminded us why we do this.”
– Bertie, Creative Director at Immersive Me.
The three days spanning October’s autumnal descent into brisk November saw thousands of people luxuriate in this oasis – a holiday from normal life a mere tube ride away. We couldn’t be prouder of this world-class experience we turned around within a very short timeframe and of the team that made it come to life. Watching people stroll around, laugh and seeing their faces light up with the joy of experiencing something new was truly magical and reminded us of why we love doing what we do, why we pour our hearts into each project and why we love taking on new challenges.
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Still photography by Giles Jenkyn
