Elevate Talks: SoyEspectro
SoyEspectro is a production company based in Córdoba, Argentina focused on the creation of audiovisual immersive experiences. Their main goal is to reach innovation in both artistic and commercial projects by experimenting with new tech. They have recently worked together with Nike during the Air Max Day in order to create an installation that let spectators play with music and visuals in real time.
Could you introduce yourselves, please?
We are a multidisciplinary team. Each of us comes from different fields such as graphic design, film and industrial design. We chose to call ourselves SoyEspectro (I am a spectrum) in order to create a producer of audiovisual and interactive content.
Our goal is to generate sensory experiences. Each member offers an important added value to every project. We do not play it safe; on the contrary, we experiment, try, explore and bet on working on new and original ideas in every artistic or commercial project we get in.
When did SoyEspectro emerge? How would you define it?
SoyEspectro was officially founded in 2014 but comes from previous years in which we each had our own personal projects and shared ones as well. The connection was given naturally and we turned into a team really easily. We understand each other and we respect what each of us do and contribute.
We believe SoyEspectro is a space we created to achieve goals and work on projects that seem impossible to do all alone. We are used to start our creative process by experimenting with artistic or non-commercial projects and then adapting them to the commercial ones.
Why did you choose the name “SoyEspectro”?
The name comes naturally from what we do. It refers to the visible magnetic spectrum of light. The piece that the human eye is capable of perceiving. The perception that our eye has of this magnetic spectrum translates into the colors we see. We feel that we are part of this game of lights, fields, energy, waves, and so on. That’s why we call ourselves SoyEspectro.
Which effect do you think technology has on design? Do you believe there are limitations when experimenting with new technologies?
Design needs technology so they have direct influence between one another.
The creator has to make decisions and choose to implement modern technologies, older ones or a mixture of both and obtain different results. It depends on what you are seeking.
Currently, there is no limit to technological evolution. It just goes extremely fast. What previously seemed impossible today can surely be done in way too many different ways. We believe possibilities are endless. The real limitations are the budget you have or the access to a specific resource.
How’s working in Argentina with multimedia arts like?
As I said before, the limitations can be budget or the lack of a certain resource. As we live in Córdoba, we usually are forced to deal with the second option. That’s when we get the best out of ourselves to find different options and alternatives to develop a specific idea we have in mind.
We, by all means, don’t let this discourage us. On the contrary, it motivates us because we are forced to experiment more and develop personal projects with different techniques and technologies that are suitable for commercial uses.
I went to the Air Max Day powered by Nike and found your Air Tunnel really interesting. Could you tell me more about this project? How did you get to work with Nike? How was the experience like?
The Nike project was really special for us. We have wanted to work in Buenos Aires for a really long time and getting to do this in the Air Max Day exceeded our expectations. We were summoned by the Trimarchi Collective which formed a series of Clusters that were set to develop projects together.
We have already been working on other versions of the Air Tunnel. In this case the main goal was to allow the audience to interact with an audiovisual set in real time, mixing Ableton Live sounds that matched images in a 3D environment developed in UNITY 3D. For this version we mixed our project with images created by Seba Acampante and sounds produced by La Bomba de Tiempo and Santiago Martínez.
Is there any type of client you’d rather not work with?
It is important to maintain a good relationship and trust each client. We believe that all projects have good potential and don’t think that there is a particular client that we would not work with.
However, if the client is enthusiastic and allows a good working team to be created, the result is much richer and flows way better.
If you had to build a Top 3 with your best projects, how would it be?
Air unnel, Sonda and our current project, Siddharta. Although they were all truly different, they took loads of time and effort and motivated an interaction with great people beyond the SoyEspectro team.
We have worked with musicians, illustrators, technicians and sound engineers. Sonda and Air Tunel were both projects that were born in the team’s space for experimentation and then got commercial. People got along with both of them. We received good feedback and got into other projects because of them.
We believe Siddharta is one of our most ambitious projects. It consisted on building digital scenography for the new show directed by Flavio Mendoza. We built more than 20 scenarios in 3D that had to interact and change according to different show moments. This project led us to rethink what software to use and how to approach the animations in order to have them ready in record time and with the flexibility they required.
Which are the tools you use the most?
From the analog to the digital spheres, whatever comes to mind. The truth is that the projects are so wide that we can use pencil, paper, computers, pixel led, a welding machine, metal or wood.
How important is social media for SoyEspectro?
Undoubtedly, they are useful to connect and show what we are doing. Lately, we have been putting more effort on them. What we do is difficult to explain with words and networks that support multimedia language allow us to have a better reach and get closer to explaining what the experiences we build feel like. The content that we are interested in showing are finished projects, processes and new technologies.
What do you think about remote work?
We work remotely. Several times we have worked in that way, mainly because we live in Córdoba and work on projects for other countries or cities.
Each project works in the same way, it is planned and team roles and deadlines are set. The coordinated structure is vital because our projects can involve musicians, modelers, animators, FX studios, visual artists, contenders and we all have to be able to understand each other well.
Which has been your biggest challenge?
So far all the works have been quite a challenge, they have always been huge projects and with important clients. Anyway, every time we are about to finish a tough one, we are already thinking about what the next one will be like.
Siddhartha was a great achievement and a great challenge for us. It took us by surprise and we accomplish with really tight deadlines. The result was great.
Where do you see yourselves in 1 year?
Growing. Working on huge projects, meeting people and getting to know new places.
What about in 5 years?
If we manage to get to do new, innovative things that will make us work hard, it will be ok. The idea is to eliminate geographical limits.
Bonus track: Could you recommend any TV series/ comics/ movie/ song/ artist/ etc?
Series: We watch all kind of series, specially those that have great graphic effects. Atlanta was one that we really liked.
Instagram: Visit ours! @soyespectro. Also, visit @pablogmoreno our designer star.
