The Story
Through The Dark was written by Hilltop Hoods' Pressure (aka Dan Smith) for his son Liam, who was diagnosed with leukaemia at eight years old.
The track was written and rewritten during the six months Dan was living in hospital while Liam underwent chemotherapy. Listen to the full Restrung album on Google Play Music, free for 14 days for new users. For the first 30,000 fans who do, Google and Hilltop Hoods will donate $1 to CanTeen* to support young people living with cancer.
Liam is now living cancer free.
Listen on Google Play Music
free for 14 days. $1 will be donated
to CanTeen*. AU & NZ residents only.
*Terms & limits apply.
The Making Of
Through The Dark is a collaboration between Hilltop Hoods and Google Play Music. It's an interactive film that merges art and technology as part of Google's commitment to supporting Australian music.
The Concept
The experience uses mobile technology to capture the sense of a world turned upside down. Using 3D cameras mapped to the phone's accelerometer, the device is tilted and rotated to reveal a father and son's journey through two 3D animated worlds - the dark and the light.
The Technology
Designers, animators and developers brought the experience to life using the latest web technologies. Simplified 3D meshes and rigs were built to tell the story, textures and lighting were designed by hand, and new tools were developed to bridge traditional animation methods and WebGL.
