Interactive and Immersive Promotion
An AR (Augmented Reality) filter is a software feature, most commonly used on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, that adds a layer of digital imagery or information onto a user’s real-world environment as seen through their device’s camera. Unlike Virtual Reality (VR), which creates a completely artificial world, AR enhances or augments the user’s current reality.
In the film industry, AR filters have become a cornerstone of modern digital marketing campaigns. They represent a shift from passive advertising (like a poster or a trailer) to active, participatory promotion. By creating a fun and shareable AR experience themed around a movie, studios can empower fans to become creators and distributors of branded content, generating massive organic reach and engagement.
Common Uses in Film Marketing
Studios and their marketing partners create AR filters with several strategic goals in mind, often launching them in the weeks leading up to a film’s release:
- Character Transformation: The most popular type of filter allows users to “become” a character from the film. This could be a face filter that applies a character’s makeup, mask, or costume, or a full-body filter that tracks the user’s movements.
- World Lenses: These filters use the rear-facing camera to place a 3D model of a character or creature from the movie into the user’s own environment. A user could make it look like a dinosaur from Jurassic World is in their backyard or a superhero is landing on their coffee table.
- “Which Character Are You?” Quizzes: These are gamified filters that cycle through characters from a movie above the user’s head before landing on a random result, encouraging users to share their assigned character.
- Portal Lenses: These more immersive filters create a virtual “portal” in the user’s room, which they can then step through to get a 360-degree view of a key location from the film’s world.
The ultimate goal of a promotional AR filter is to be so entertaining and visually compelling that users are eager to share their experiences on their social media stories and feeds, turning millions of fans into individual brand ambassadors for the film.