Watching You Watching Me
Type
Interactive Installation (Physical & Digital)
Introduction
The Core Concept
"The act of looking becomes the act of being seen"
The central idea flips traditional observation on its head. Looking through binoculars or a viewing box typically places you as a hidden observer. In this installation, the moment you lean in to watch, you become the observed subject. By projecting the viewer's eyes to surrounding spectators, the installation challenges digital naivety and exposes how privacy can vanish in real-time.
The experience begins as the user steps up to the physical box and looks through the padded binoculars to watch the custom horror video. While absorbed in the story, a hidden camera captures their eyes in real-time, instantly multiplying and projecting them across the exterior wall for everyone around to see. Near the end of the video, the internal display switches to a live feed from a secondary camera positioned behind the user, revealing eyes watching them from behind. The moment the user turns around or looks up out of shock, the tracking stops and the eyes disappear. The full loop closes when the user steps back and watches the next person try the installation, instantly understanding both sides of the experience.
To maximize immersion and emotional impact, we scripted and filmed our own horror short film to show inside the viewing box. The custom story follows a girl who is being tracked and stalked by someone behind a camera. This atmospheric narrative grips the viewer’s attention, encouraging them to look deeper into the box while heightening their vulnerability and making the eventual reveal much more intense.
From initial concept and physical box fabrication to filming custom horror footage, writing tracking code, and conducting A/B testing, the entire installation was designed, iterated, and delivered within a fast-paced 14-day sprint.
A/B Testing & Audio Experiments: We conducted A/B testing on different sound setups and narrative lengths to figure out what built the most suspense. Early tests showed that adding custom creepier audio, typewriter sound effects, and darker room curtains significantly enhanced immersion.
Iterative Refinements:
Clarity of Meaning: Early participants were confused by the transition. Based on feedback, we adjusted the video length, camera switching timing, and end screens to make the core message clearer.
Adding Tension: Testers requested a scarier experience, prompting us to re-shoot and refine the horror video, add a second camera angle, and fine-tune the eye-tracking visuals on the wall.
Technical Architecture
& Setup
Key Takeaways
This project successfully transformed a complex concept like digital surveillance into a tangible, memorable experience by blending physical design with interactive digital media. By creating a dual-perspective interaction, participants directly felt the uncomfortable reality of being watched, driving home a powerful message about privacy and digital naivety. Ultimately, the fast-paced two-week sprint demonstrated how rapid prototyping, continuous user testing, and data-driven A/B testing can turn raw technical components into an engaging and thought-provoking narrative.
