Ultimate guide to Augmented Reality effects on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok.

1. proudly prepared by
Ultimate guide to Augmented Reality effects
on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok
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2. The full version of the ebook features examples, creatives ideas,
and best practices for the following industries:
TV Beauty
Automotive Luxury
Fast food FMCGMusic

3. 5
Table of contents
Introduction – 7
Instagram – 25
Messenger
Facebook
Snapchat
TikTok
Best practices – 61
Trends
Industries
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4. 76
Introduction
Augmented Reality is gaining an increasing popularity among social
media users - Instagrammers, Facebookers, Snapchatters, and TikTokers.
AR effect creators become internet celebrities overnight with their
masterpieces earning hundreds of millions of views. More and more
brands employ AR filters in their campaigns to showcase their products
and services in a creative, non-standard way.
This ebook aims to present technological capabilities of Augmented
Reality on most popular social media platforms, point out best practices,
discuss trends, but most importantly provide a definite answer to
whether AR is a legitimate marketing tool.
We are practitioners. As Lens That creative studio we have designed
and delivered AR experiences for over 150 marketing campaigns in over
40 markets, and we run the most comprehensive online database of AR
effects from around the globe, Lenslist.
PS. Each of the platforms discussed here develops with an incredible
pace, so we encourage you to check back on Lens That website every
last Thursday of the month for updates of this ebook.
introduction

5. 98
Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive experience of
a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the
real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual
information. (...) AR can be defined as a system that fulfills
three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds,
real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual
and real objects. / Wikipedia
Augmented Reality first came to social media through Snapchat.
Selfies with virtual dog ears and cat whiskers paved the way for using
AR on mobile devices. Worldwide Pokemon GO phenomenon further
contributed to popularizing the technology on them. And even though
the developments on designing AR glasses do not show signs of slowing
down, it is our hand-held smartphones that will remain the primary AR
effects medium for the foreseeable future.
AR on social media - the milestones
2015 2017 2019 2020
First lenses
appear on
Snapchat
Facebook
Camera
incorporates
AR
Instagram
opens up for
branded AR
filters
Branded
effects
make it to
TikTok
introduction
AR effects are an integral, built-in function of social
media platforms’ cameras, so there is no need for users
to install any additional applications to launch them.
AR effects are most commonly used in camera’s selfie mode. They
recognize, track, and modify user’s face (see: face tracking) and its
surroundings. From subtle skin enhancements, through applying
make-up, changing iris color, adding freckles and animal ears, all the way
to transforming the user entirely into a movie protagonist or a fantastical
monster. Front camera effects can be prompted and controlled (see: trigger)
with facial expressions and hand gestures (see: hand tracking). They can
also modulate user’s voice and include a dedicated soundtrack.
Front camera effects (selfie mode)
introduction
BOOHOOFILA

6. 1110
Some of the most common triggers are:
Raising eyebrows
Winking
Smiling
Opening mouth
Kissing
Moving head
Closing and opening eyes
Nodding
Pre-defined or custom instructions - depending on the
social media platform - can be displayed on screen upon
launching the effect so the user knows what triggers to
use to play with it.
Effect can support multiple triggers (see: AR games).
introduction
Rear camera effects allow for modifying user’s surroundings and enriching
them with 3D objects. They make it possible to check how a given piece
of furniture will look in a room or to enter into a completely virtual space
(see: portal). Image recognition technology enables bringing real-life
objects to... life - a book cover, a movie poster, a business card, etc.
(see: target tracking). There also are many rear camera effects that
imitate different weather conditions - adding raindrops, lightning or
snowflakes to user’s videos and photos.
Rear camera effects
Effect can augment
both front and rear
camera view.
introduction
PUMA LEROY MERLIN

7. 1312
Technologies overview
Face tracking
The overview of technologies most frequently used in AR effects on
various platforms.
Face tracking identifies and follows the shape
and movements of the user’s head and face.
It enables the support of facial expressions as
triggers (smiling, shaking head, sending kisses),
the modifications of the user’s face (its entire
shape or just its parts, e.g. eyes), and the addition
of extra elements to its surface (e.g. creating
masks). A few more examples of face tracking
use would be effects that enhance skin, extend
eyelashes or apply make-up.
The effect can recognize multiple faces simultaneously
- for example, on Instagram it is up to 5 persons.
Face modifications that imitate plastic surgery or aesthetic
medicine procedures (e.g. lip enlargement, cheekbones or nose
correction) are strictly prohibited on Facebook and Instagram,
in the interest of their users’ mental wellbeing.
introduction
MCDONALD’S
Every AR effect is developed specifically for the camera of
a given social media platform. For example, an AR effect
created for Instagram will only open in Instagram’s camera.
3D models
AR effects often include virtual 3D objects (and often these are brand
products). They can be placed both in the front camera view - e.g. a helmet,
a mask, some objects falling around the user’s head - or the rear camera
view - e.g. a car model together with a 360° interior view, furniture,
a virtual store or a gallery space.
introduction
JEEP HYBRID OCTOPUS

8. 1514
Segmentation
It separates the users from their background (like greenscreen known
from movie and show productions) so an effect can then replace it with
any image (including 360° photo), an animation or a video, virtually
transporting the user to any place and time.
Segmentation’s accuracy is greatly affected by lighting
conditions in which the user tries out an effect.
Another variation of this technology is hair
segmentation - it makes it possible to change the user’s
hair color in a hyperrealistic fashion.
introduction
ADIDAS NATIONALE
NEDERLANDEN
Hand Tracking
Iris tracking
It allows to create effects that react to hand
movements - and to whether the hand is
visible in the camera or not in the first place.
Effects that use iris tracking can change the
color of the user’s eyes and also react to where
the user is currently looking.
Camera detects the center of
the user’s palm, it doesn’t track
its exact shape. So, for example,
it is not possible to create an
effect that puts a ring
precisely on the user’s finger.
introduction
WOŚP
LUXE LENSES

9. 1716
Target tracking (image recognition)
This technology enables activating effects by aiming the camera at
a specific image in the user’s real-life surroundings, e.g. a movie poster or
a brand logo.
There is a limit of one image (target) per effect.
Not all images are good targets. It is best for such
a target to contain many unique details and not be
symmetrical.
introduction
GLAMOUR READY PLAYER ONE
Plane tracking
Plane tracking technology identifies flat
surfaces, on which, in turn, virtual 3D objects
can be placed. Thanks to this, the user can,
for example, “park” a three dimensional model
of a shiny new car in their garage and enjoy
looking at it from all angles.
Effects utilizing plane tracking
only work in the smartphone’s
rear camera.
Portals
Rear camera effects that require the user to take a physical step into
a virtual world through a virtual door, mirror, sphere, etc.
introduction
BMW
READY PLAYER ONE

10. 1918
Shaders
Shaders make it possible to modify the camera view in nearly limitless
ways and to precisely mimic physical behavior of light reflecting on
different surfaces, e.g. glass, mirror, porous materials. They are also used
to achieve a very high level of a realistic detail on them. On wood-like
textures, for example, shaders allow skilled effect creators to replicate
roughness of wood, and on 3D models imitating brushed metal they
make the light bend irregularly, differently on every crease.
Shaders can be applied
to the user’s face to retouch its
imperfections, put on make-up,
change eye color, or even
make them look like
a different person.
introduction
LADY GAGA
Interface
Instructions
Instructions, displayed on the screen upon launching the effect, inform the
user how to handle the effect, what triggers are applied in it - e.g. raise
your hand, tap the screen to change, smile. Instructions on Instagram,
Facebook, and Snapchat must be selected by an effect creator from
a predefined list and are automatically translated to the language set in
the user’s app (the list of available instructions is provided at the end of
this ebook). Instructions on TikTok are custom but some rules and limits
apply (discussed in detail in TikTok section).
Now that you know what the technological capabilities of AR effects
are, let us outline their interface elements and ways for users to interact
with them.
introduction
Wink your eyes Open your mouth
SVOBIZ DISNEYLAND

11. 2120
Native UI Picker
This interface element lets the user switch between various options
in the effect by tapping icons displayed at the bottom of the screen -
e.g. changing lipstick colors, selecting different 3D furniture models.
Native UI Slider
The slider, displayed on the side of the screen, controls the intensity of
a given effect parameter - e.g. the degree of opacity, the color saturation
level, the sound volume.
introduction
ANNABELLE
MINERALS
B.
B.
A.
A.
introduction
Read on Lenslist
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AR as a Form of Artistic Expression and a New Kind of Art Display
Influencer AR Mixed Marketing – Emergence of a New Social Media Market
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version of ebook on