The innovative Lego Vidiyo music video maker experience lets children direct, produce, star in and share their own music videos.
The platform, from Lego Group and Universal Music Group (UMG), is aimed at children aged 7-10 years, providing a safe universe where they can traverse the worlds of physical and digital play, and experiment with play and music.Using new AR technology, this will be the first-time children can play with Lego minifigures in real-life scale and at a super-sized scale, in addition to the iconic minifigure scale.
Combining new technology with the Lego System in Play, and music from many of the world’s leading artists, Lego Vidiyo provides a refreshing opportunity for children to express themselves creatively. The platform requires verified parental consent, along with anonymity and external moderation of all content uploaded to the App feed, so parents can be reassured their child is staying safe online.
Accessed through a unique mashup of Lego elements, minifigures, music, augmented reality and a vibrant new App, Lego Vidiyo offers endless editing options, unlocked through special effect BeatBits.
“We want to feed the imagination of the next generation of creatives, providing a new canvas for kids to creatively express themselves,” said Julia Goldin, chief marketing officer, the Lego Group. “Research shows over three quarters of parents globally wish their children had more creative confidence, so we’re launching Lego Vidiyo to help make that happen. We can’t wait to see what they come up with.”
Kids choose one of the many songs in the App and create a band from a collection of physical minifigures, which can be customised and brought to life in different scales through AR technology in the Vidiyo App. The App lets children style their band members, select names for the band, design album covers and much more. They can then line up special effects, in the form of BeatBits, and place them on the scanning stage.
BeatBits are decorated 2×2 square Lego elements which, once scanned, unlock digital effects that let the user control everything from video and music styles to scene effects, including options from black and white bling effects, to confetti showers and even X-ray vision. Audio effects such as DJ scratching, mouse voice or sax solo can be added, as well as signature character moves and gimmicks, from breakdancing to surfing on a shark.
Hitting the selected BeatBits in the App, children then take creative control of their own music video production, triggering dance moves and audio/video effects in an amazing 60 second performance, which can be trimmed down to 5, 10, 15 or 20 second shareable clips Clips can then be uploaded to the App feed, but only once the content has passed moderation.
New music, challenges, and inspirational content will be added regularly to the App to keep gameplay fresh and encourage children to continue developing their creative skills.
Lego Vidiyo is the first collaboration between the Lego Group and Universal Music Group, after the two companies announced their partnership in April 2020.
Olivier Robert-Murphy, executive vice president, Universal Music Group and Brands said: “Lego Vidiyo is a great way for millions of kids to discover new music and get closer to their favourite artists while learning and connecting through play.”
The first Lego Vidiyo products will be available in the UK from 1st March 2021.
