Skip to main content

Snapchat plans first interactive 3D lens to promote ‘Underworld: Blood Wars’

Snapchat is partnering with film studio Screen Gems on a promotional lens for its upcoming release Underworld: Blood Wars.

Your excitement for the feature will likely be predicated on two factors: whether you’re a fan of the Underworld franchise (someone out there must be, as it’s on to its fifth film, with plans for a sixth) and whether you like donning silly facial graphics when taking selfies on Snapchat. But, wait there’s more. This time round, what seems like just another sponsored lens may turn out to be more significant — at least according to Screen Gems.

Recommended Videos

The production company is touting the augmented reality feature as a first for the visual messaging app, reports Deadline. The interactive 3D lens will not only allow users to transform into a vampire, but it will also create an immersive 360-degree environment, the inspiration for which comes from Underworld itself. Call it a hunch, but we’re guessing it’s going to be extremely gothic.

Snapchatters will be able to adapt the 3D environment to their movements by turning their smartphone. The promotional lens reportedly uses your mobile device’s gyroscope to create its immersive AR graphics. The tech sounds an awful lot like the functions offered by Seene, a startup that was snapped up by Snapchat earlier this year. The company is best known for its eponymous app, which creates 3D selfies and scenes using your phone’s sensors (including the gyroscope and accelerometer). Back in June, it was reported that Seene’s U.K.- and U.S.-based teams would be shifted to Snapchat’s headquarters in Los Angeles. With the announcement of the new 3D lens, we may have a better idea of the type of products Seene’s talent is building.

In the lead-up to the December 29 release of the Underworld 3D lens, Snapchat users will be able to “snap to unlock” sneak peeks by scanning promotional snapcodes when outdoors, and on TV and online.

In case you’re interested, Underworld: Blood Wars sees Kate Beckinsale reprise her role as the vampire death-dealer Selene as she battles to end the eternal war between the Lycans (werewolves) and vampires. Some may call it a poor man’s Resident Evil, but what do they know anyway? If you like guns, mythical creatures, and Brit actors prone to camping it up, then it may well turn out to be your jam.

This isn’t the first time Snapchat has released a sponsored lens for a film. In the past the company has partnered with Sony on a Ghostbusters AR feature, and a promotional tie-in with 20th Century Fox for its blockbuster X-Men Apocalypse.

Saqib Shah
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Saqib Shah is a Twitter addict and film fan with an obsessive interest in pop culture trends. In his spare time he can be…
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Incogni: Recover your privacy and remove personal information from the internet
Incogni remove your personal data from brokers and more

Everything you do while online is tracked digitally. Often connected to your email address or an issued IP, trackers can easily identify financial details, sensitive information like your social security number, demographics, contact details, like a phone number or address, and much more. In many ways, this information is tied to a digital profile and then collated, recorded, and shared via data brokers. There are many ways this information can be scooped up and just as many ways, this information can be shared and connected back to you and your family. The unfortunate reality is that, for most of us, we no longer have any true privacy.

The problem is exacerbated even more if you regularly use social media, share content or images online, or engage in discussions on places like Reddit or community boards. It's also scary to think about because even though we know this information is being collected, we don't necessarily know how much is available, who has it, or even what that digital profile looks like.

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more