Aug 31, 2010 09:08 GMT  ·  By

Google is definitely a big supporter of HTML5 and has showcased the technology with every occasion it got. But tech demos can only get you so far, an experimental new music "video" leverage HTML5 but also appeals one's emotions by creating a tailored, individual experience.

The project is called The Wilderness Downtown, a rather fitting title as you'll discover when you watch it.

The project is the work of writer/director Chris Milk, whom you may be familiar with from his previous works leveraging the web for artistic purposes, specifically the Johnny Cash Project.

"Building this project on the web and for the browser allowed us to craft an experience that is not only personalized, but also deeply personal for each viewer. 'The Wilderness Downtown' takes you down memory lane through the streets you grew up in," Aaron Koblin from the Google Creative Lab wrote.

"The project was built with the latest web technologies and includes HTML5, Google Maps, an integrated drawing tool, as well as multiple browser windows that move around the screen," he explained.

The Wilderness Downtown is billed as a Chrome Experiment and is available on the website but also has its own homepage. In a sense, it's a music video built for the web which, with the help of Google and HTML5 technologies, can create a unique experience for each viewer.

Before anything happens, the page asks you for the address of the home where you grew up. It then uses Street View and aerial imagery for that address to integrate the location with the video.

Obviously, the best experience is for places where this imagery is available. You'll need a 'modern' browser, meaning not Internet Explorer, for the web page to run to its full potential.

Once the video starts playing, multiple windows are opened, some containing actual footage, others imagery from Street View and Google Maps.

The imagery is processed to make a bit more visually appealing and super imposed with animated birds and later trees showing up on the streets you grew up on.

Every stage of the video is a technological achievement in itself. It does a good job at showcasing most of what HTML5 can do in terms of rich media, from animation, to image processing, video, audio and even the interactive elements like the Canvas-based window you're supposed to write a message or draw something in.

It's best just to 'experience' the whole thing, but be warned that it can be fairly taxing on your computer. The site recommends that you close down un-needed applications and browser tabs to make sure that everything goes smooth and, in most cases, you're going to need to do that.