In a fantastic, show stopping display, Christie Digital Systems created a two story projection mapping loop that appeared on the front side of their booth at #Infocomm11. The surface was an ornate, three dimensional construction complete with pillars, what appeared to be screen material or canvas that was then painted with goo (for more on goo, stay tuned). Three Christie projectors, including one roadie were hung above the booth and edge butted two parallel lines that formed the surface. They were positioned only twenty or thirty feet away, and managed to cast a LOT of light considering the convention room was bright to begin with. A few speakers and a two story view of the mapping completed the display, and it proved impossible for people to ignore it. In fact, in a blog post by @ChristieDigital they admit: “we went big.” I would agree. And it worked well.
The video loop itself was a contract piece which featured several vibrant clips to demonstrate the versatility to a three dimensional surface that is being projected upon. The first clip turned the side of the Christie booth into a giant slot machine called “gold strike”, with three wheels spinning and fun sound effects. The second clip transformed the side of the booth into a “high voltage spirit” rock show, complete with red and yellow silhouettes of guitarist and raving crowd. The third clip turned the booth into an ornate, ferris-wheel-esque organ complete with floating fish. The fourth clip featured bright shapes and words scrolling left and right, and the final clip featured a blue ice cavern with floating sparks of light that converge to create the Christie logo. The true shape of the surface is seen at the beginning and end of the video below, and as you will see, the projection mapping is fairly convincing even with the huge amount of point source and ambient light in the room.
Cramer has been researching and developing projection mapping for events, and we recently featured a projection mapping opening video and set at an event in Orlando, FL.
