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CREATING A LENS FOR A CUSTOM LOCATION IN LENS STUDIO

201 LEVEL COURSE

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE AND LOCATION-BASED AR

✅ Organic | A Lens that is reaching Snapchatters organically, without any advertiser ad spend. 

✅ Sponsored | Lenses that are published by advertisers that pay a flat fee to own the first sponsored lens experience that a user sees within our camera.

✅ Spectacles | AR experiences created for our first pair of glasses that bring augmented reality to life, redefining how we interact with and overlay computing on the world.
Imagine a local monument or your favorite nearby park transformed into an augmented reality (AR) attraction featuring visual hints that tell you about the monument or enable you to see what the space looked like before the park was built. Location-based AR makes this possible, and it’s specifically designed to bring a location to life and turn any local structure or international landmark into an augmented reality attraction. In 2019, Snapchat introduced Landmarker Lenses with scans of famous locations, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Buckingham Palace in London, the Flatiron Building in New York City, and many more. 
Today, Snap AR enables creators to scan a local structure and create a Lens experience tied to the structure using Custom Location AR. By leveraging Custom Location AR in your Lenses, you can build interactive and engaging experiences tied to a specific location of your choice, opening up a world of opportunities! From collaborating with local organizations to producing promotional Lenses for a business or creating a Custom Location Lens for your school, state park, or local landmark you want to celebrate in your community, the possibilities are truly endless.
In this course, we’ll cover the building blocks of location-based AR and teach you how to create an AR experience for a specific location near you. Comprising of five modules, 10 to 25 minutes each, the course should take between 50 and 120 minutes to complete. In it, we will cover:

Module 1: The Basics of Location-Based AR Lenses

Understand the fundamentals of developing a Custom Location Lens.
Learn about top considerations for Lens creation.
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Module 2: Location Scanning and Optimization

Review scanning software and optimization processes.
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Module 3: Giving Hints in Custom Location Lenses

Explore ways to add interactive Lens components.
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Module 4: Spatial Triggers and Space Navigation

Discover how to use Lens Studio to create interactivity, trigger SFX, and more.
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Module 5: Step-by-Step Guide

Learn how to create a unique Custom Location Lens and submit it to Snapchat.
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EXAMPLES OF LOCATION AR LENSES

To help you get inspired and start imagining what type of Lenses you want to create with Custom Location AR, take a look at a few examples other creators and brands have made using Lens Studio.
GoSpooky for Tiffany & Co.

A Custom Location Lens that transforms the exterior of Saatchi Gallery into a beautiful jewel-adorned spectacle.

The Knowledge Pool Lens by Michael French

Location-based AR helps Snapchatters learn about space, ocean, and more through interactive exploration.

Send Chinatown Love

Interactive Lens highlights Lucy Yu achievement as the first Asian-American woman to own an independent bookshop in NYC.

Lincoln Memorial Lens created by Balti

The 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Memorial’s dedication ceremony at the National Mall in Washington.

Created by RTFKT.

A Custom location Lens for Gagosian museum’s Takashi Murakami exhibit.