XR Nation Citizen's Spotlight: Flamingo Filter

Citizen's Spotlight is a weekly series sharing an XR Nation citizen's story.

PARIS, FRANCE (August 26, 2021) – Flamingo Filter is a Parisian studio that creates lightweight Augmented Reality experiences. These experiences do not require an app to download. Instead, 3D objects, makeup, or games are controlled by the movements of the head in real time through the use of the camera of social networks such as Instagram and Snapchat.

CEO Vincent Trastour discovered the universe of Augmented Reality on Instagram and, fascinated, decided to devote himself fully to creating face filters. He still needed an accomplice who would bring an indispensable artistic touch and who also complemented his expertise as a developer: it would be Jordan Poirier, a graphic designer and long-time friend.

Vincent and Jordan founded Flamingo Filter in July 2019. A month later, the startup landed its first client, Rampage Festival, the famous Belgian electronic music festival. In October of the same year, Flamingo Filter organized P.A.R.I.S. (Paris Augmented Reality Influencers' Show), the first French event on AR filters. The P.A.R.I.S. brought together more than 120 participants and 8 speakers from Russia, the United States, Italy and France. Among them were AR artist Stephen Black, the influencer and creator of filters Caroline Rocha, Adrien Carta, the CEO of Kalank, and Piotar Boa, a recognized designer of Italian filters. A month later, the pair took part in the “Spark AR from Facebook” hackathon in London.

The company continues to accelerate its growth and development by raising funds, establishing partnerships with experts in advertising and digital communication, and launching the first French training course on AR on social networks.

For the creators of Flamingo Filter, sharing is a central value. They are dedicated to building up the future of AR in France and are very active on social networks, offering community content and tutorials on their YouTube channel. In particular, they created a series of videos that show how to use the social AR tool Spark AR to create an Instagram game dedicated to Star Wars.

Vincent and Jordan also regularly publish articles on the Flamingo Filter blog, which explores the world of AR, presents its benefits for brands, and provides the latest news.

Since its inception, the studio has carried out over 100 experiments and filters for dozens of clients in France and abroad. A filter that saves the bees, a game that puts you in the shoes of Luke Skywalker, a filter that turns users into apes ... these are some of the amazing experiences created by Flamingo Filter!

One popular AR experience they developed is "Monkey Me" for the French band Shaka Ponk who has a virtual member, the monkey "Goz", in its ranks. This fun filter was used to shoot the video for "Funky Junky Monkey" and promote the album Apelogies. The success was overwhelming: in 24 hours, the "Funky Junky Monkey" video was viewed more than 220,000 times.

The studio designs two types of unique products, which correspond to targeted audiences: filters for social networks like Facebook, and AR experiences on the web, which can be discovered from a smartphone's internet browser.

With their complementary profiles, Jordan and Vincent are both developers and 3D experts in animation and modelling. They can meet both the technical and creative requirements of their customers to create complex games and effects. Flamingo Filter is also an official member of the Spark AR Partner Network and has early access to updates and new features from Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, allowing them to always be on the cutting edge of technology. Thanks to their experience, the duo are also able to advise their clients in the best possible way to ensure the success of the project and its posting on social networks.

Flamingo Filter believes in the power of Augmented Reality filters. AR technology is one of the most effective ways to boost brand awareness.

And that's only the beginning. With the arrival of 5G, cloud computing and smart glasses, Augmented Reality will occupy more and more place in our lives. A new digital revolution is underway: for brands and businesses. Now is the time to get ahead of the curve by embracing AR.

Visit Flamingo Filter's website to find out more.