Brands
JBL blurs the line between real and surreal with powerful sound and incredible design
Mumbai: In a crowded landscape of branded content and commercials, differentiation is one of the biggest differentiating factors. Recognising this, audio giant JBL (from the house of HARMAN) has ingeniously showcased its distinctiveness through a captivating series of mixed-reality videos.
Designed to create buzz about JBL’s top-of-the-line audio components like Tour One M2 Headphones, PartyBox Ultimate speaker, and Authentics speaker – each video showcases how powerful sound can make anything, and anybody, come alive and dance.
Conceptualised by Havas Worldwide India, this immersive three-video series transcends conventional marketing approaches by seamlessly blending reality with technology. Iconic landmarks across India served as the canvas for this innovative showcase, offering viewers an unforgettable glimpse into JBL’s unrivalled professional audio capabilities.
HARMAN India director of integrated marketing Yogesh Nambiar said, “We’re witnessing the growing and well-accepted use of AI, AR and VR in marketing campaigns. As a frontrunner in the audio industry, JBL is always eager to adopt the latest approaches and technologies that showcase the edge that we bring to the table. 2023 witnessed our 3D anamorphic films at various airports across the country which received an overwhelming response from partners and customers alike. This year, we are seeing great response on our mixed reality videos as well. The Authentics series video was no different. Thanks to our partners Havas Worldwide India and the people at Unstitched – founders Ashvir Khurana & Nikita Ramrakhyani and Yashvi Bothra from the creative team – I daresay this one will surpass the earlier ones. I’m glad that this is how JBL lovers saw the product for the first time. One icon working with another.”
Speaking about the campaign, Havas Worldwide India chief creative officer and joint managing director Anupama Ramaswamy said, “Mixed reality is a popular and powerful medium for brands. It is fun, light-hearted and immersive. It also makes the content more shareable and memorable. However, many brands use mixed reality as a gimmick, without any connection to the product or the message. JBL products are different. So, our ambition was to create something that displayed their abilities in full glory. They offer powerful sound and come with stunning designs. In the end, it was easy to land on an idea that makes the world around them come alive and party with them.”
Brands
IICT partners with Gativedhi to bring studio production tools to students
New MoU lets students explore AI-driven production pipelines for AVGC-XR
MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) has teamed up with Gativedhi Technologies to give students a front-row seat to modern studio production. The collaboration will integrate Gativedhi’s AI-powered production intelligence platform, Shotrack, into academic programmes, letting students experience the workflow systems used by animation, VFX and gaming studios.
Under the MoU, faculty, students and researchers will get hands-on access to Shotrack through beta programmes, pilot deployments and academic evaluations. This will allow them to explore simulated production pipelines, understand asset management, track tasks and monitor schedules, essentially seeing how complex projects come together behind the scenes.
Shotrack is designed to tackle a key industry challenge: when multiple studios work on the same project, differing internal systems often create bottlenecks, slow approvals and complicate version control. The platform provides a unified production environment, enabling smoother collaboration across distributed teams while generating operational insights and predictive analytics to optimise crew allocation, forecast schedule risks and manage costs.
The collaboration also opens doors to Gativedhi’s wider ecosystem. Upcoming tools include StudioTrack, for studio operations management covering budgeting, recruitment and IT infrastructure, and WorkTrack, which measures workflow efficiency and team productivity across industries.
IICT plans to embed these tools into programmes covering animation pipelines, VFX workflows, gaming production and media project management. Students will also benefit from guest lectures, masterclasses, workshops, internships and research projects that connect academic learning with real-world studio practices.
IICT CEO Vishwas Deoskar, said the partnership provides “An environment where production pipeline tools can be explored, tested and refined while students gain insight into how large-scale productions are organised.”
Gativedhi Technologies founder & CEO Senthil Kumar added, “This collaboration introduces students to real-world studio management tools and helps us improve our platform with academic feedback.”
With Shotrack in classrooms, India’s future animators, VFX artists and gaming producers will get a taste of studio life long before they step into one.
