LAS VEGAS, Oct. 31, 2016 – Global display hardware and software manufacturer, Barco, partnered with video and projection mapping experts, DWP Live, and animation and projection design firm, 59 Productions, to produce a projection mapping showcase for AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company. Video of the projection mapping showcase can be viewed here.
The piece was presented Wednesday, October 5, during the opening night reception of AEG’s weeklong Connect Summit at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This event kicked off the company retreat that attracts more than 400 executives from around the world.
Barco, a preferred provider of audio-visual equipment for AEG, invited DWP Live to facilitate the project from start to finish. London based video design company, 59 Productions created the content for the projection mapping piece.
“The event was full of industry executives who manage venues around the world. This was a group very familiar with high quality lighting performances,” explained Danny Whetstone, founder and president of DWP Live. “Even with this visually educated audience, many people remarked to me that they had never seen anything like this. There was a lot of interest in the process of how it was done.”
Projected on the T-Mobile Arena ice, the five-minute piece opened with images of the ice cracking, turning into water and then draining as if a plug was pulled. As the water drained, the surface turned into sand and a map of old downtown Las Vegas morphs into present day. Graphics highlighting classic Las Vegas culture and casino games in the style of Saul Bass animate with precision to fill the rink.
“We wanted to do something that stood out from other arena mapping events,” said Richard Slaney, managing director of 59 Productions. “We used a mix of perspective tricks and animated sequences that would work from any viewing angle within the arena.”
“The show transformed the surface of the ice and made it look like completely different structures, from the desert floor to a poker table. It was this transformation ” created just with lighting ” that really impressed people. It had that wow effect,” said Shelby Russell, AEG’s vice president of marketing.
The piece used a lot of texture treatments ” wood floor boards, metal doors, a circuit board, art pieces, animal prints, etc. ” and different types of content ideas. “By changing content you can reach a whole new audience. That was the concept behind the show,” said Whetstone.
The end of the show used the projection mapping of the ice in combination with the scoreboard screen to present an analysis of a classic play from the Los Angeles Kings ” the winning goal in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
“By drawing out the movement of players and the puck on the ice, combined with archival footage, we could present a unique take on a piece of footage that Kings fans would have seen many times before,” said Slaney.
The show used 12 Barco HDF-W30 projectors and d3 Technologies media servers. “The Barco projectors and d3 media servers were a perfect combination that gave us a great, stable image and the ability to quickly make content adjustments in a very short timeframe,” said Slaney.
“We asked ourselves what we could do to make the biggest impact for the attendees to make it a special evening and a projection mapping piece seemed the perfect answer,” said Scott Stremple, vice president of entertainment sales for Barco.
“Everyone was absolutely blown away. It was the buzz of the evening,” said Russell.
