The Key to Erebor
The second movie in Peter Jackson’s fantasy epic trilogy, The Hobbit: Desolations of Smaug hits the silver screen across the globe next weekend. To celebrate the release of the Martin Freeman starring film Warner Bros have teamed up with Microsoft to give you more insight into the movie with 3D printing.
Fans will be able to print an artefact from the movie using the Windows 8 app, which contains the usual array of wallpapers, key character information and videos as well as an STL file for ‘The Key to Erebor’.
The key is central to the film’s plot and on the day of the movie’s release, 13th December, the file will be released for the fans to print directly onto any 3D printer, especially those that run the native 3D printing feature on Windows 8.1
“By working closely with Warner Bros. UK and its UK agencies, PHD and Think Jam, we’ve been able to co-create a digital advertising solution that is truly at the forefront of global innovation,” explained Owen Sagness, general manager for Microsoft Advertising and Online UK.
“By offering fans a blueprint for a 3D model of one of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’s ‘key’ artefacts, we’re providing a genuinely valuable and unique experience that puts the consumer first, while continuing to deliver for the client and push the boundaries of what is creatively possible using new technology,” he added.
It’s hard to imagine when Chuck Hull was burrowing away in his office 30 years ago that he had in mind 3D printing used as another marketing tool. Coke and Adidas have also been using 3D printing as part of a campaign and this is proving to be somewhat of a growing sector.
