Footprints

What is a 'footprints' effect?

Footprints is a playful interactive effect for floor projection and LED displays. The effect is considered a type of 'trail', in that a trail of images appear when touch or movement is detected.

Great ways to use the Footprints template

Retail:

• Display a logo or brand in a playful way
• Add experiential elements inside a store
• Entertain customers waiting in line

Education & Health:

• Encourage active play
• Create a themed experience for a clinic or school
• Support creativity and imagination (i.e. nature experiences, space environments, and sensory rooms).

Events:

• Add a beautiful themed effect to a wedding aisle or entryway
• Create an interactive dance floor
• Encourage social image and video sharing

How to prepare your images

All images should be saved as png files. Background, Mask and Logo images should be made with the final resolution and aspect ratio of your installation display in mind.

The Mask, Idle and Logo images should be saved as png with an alpha channel (transparent background) at the full resolution of your final display to ensure proper placement.

The Footprint image should be prepared at around 350 x 350 pixels for standard resolution displays, and up to 600 x 600 for 4K displays. Both left and right footprints should be side-by-side with a gap between them, and saved as a png with an alpha channel. It should look something like this:

You can use multiple sets of footprints to create variety in the effect.

Video backgrounds work best if they are MP4/H264 compression, and they should be rendered to match the resolution and aspect ratio of your installation display. Videos that are a seamless loop under 60s in length will perform best.

We recommend that videos be under 500MBs for smooth performance. The limit for all assets combined is 1GB, but each template produces a slightly different size by default based on the template itself and the other assets included.

If you want to add background audio to your effect, you can add looped audio to the video.

How to use the LUMOplay Motion Maker Footprints template

Download the graphics used in this tutorial

We recommend connecting your final installation display to your computer as a second monitor so you can preview your final app on the intended display. If you have a full LUMOplay installation connected to your computer (including a display and a camera), you will be able to test your app as you build it.

1. Open LUMOplay, select Motion Maker from the left menu, and click Create next to the Footprints template.

2. When the template launches, give your app a name and click anywhere on the grey bar marked Overlays to open the first menu. (NOTE: the tools may look different on your computer, particularly if you are using multiple monitors.)

3. Click the folder icon underneath each item to choose the appropriate image. All overlay images are optional. The Idle image will appear on the screen when no one is interacting. It can be used as a call-to-action (i.e. Move to Play) or to display a message or logo when no one is playing.

4. If you'd like to make your projected image a custom shape, you can upload a Mask image. This example does not use a Mask image or an Idle image. The Mask image sits on top of everything else except the Idle Image. You can also add a Logo image. This tutorial does not use any overlay images.

5. Open the Background menu and click the folder icon to choose your background image or video.

6. Open the Footprints menu and click the folder icon to add your footprint images. Use the sliders to adjust the footprint size and spacing. Remember to test your changes as you go. If you don't have a touchscreen or interactive projection system connected to your design machine, you can use your mouse to test the footprint behaviour as you make changes.

Your can add more than one type of footprint. In this example, we're using human and dog footprints.

7. Open the Animated Waves menu to change the color of your waves. The darker the color, the more easily you will be able to see the background, ripples and footprints. The brighter the color, the more obvious the wave animation is.

You can use the sliders to reposition the position of the water, putting it on any size and at any angle.

When you're finished, click Save and close the template by clicking the X or hitting esc. Don't forget to give your app a name!

NOTE: If you forget to name your app, or if you accidentally close it before you're finished, it will automatically be saved to the Drafts section in LUMOplay's Motion Maker, so you can edit it again.

Publishing your Footprints app

Playmaker: When you're ready to publish your app to your account, click Publish and confirm. You will not be able to edit the app after it's been published.

Wait for your app to upload.

When the app is uploaded, you will find it in the APPS list in your LUMOplay software. If you can't find it right away, use the search field to look for it by name. It will be available to every license in your account.

Playground & Free: Upload your app to save a copy to the LUMOplay server. You will be able to continue editing your app until you purchase it.

Each time you upload your app, you will be given an option to purchase it or upgrade to LUMO Playmaker and publish an unlimited number of Motion Maker apps.

When you are ready to purchase your app, you can click Purchase and you will be redirected to LUMOplay.com and prompted to log in. When you're logged in, you will be taken directly to the cart page to purchase your app.

Once the app has been purchased, it will appear in your APPS list in your LUMOplay software, and you will be able to search for it by name.

Still have questions? Contact us!