Using a range of solutions including 13 Optoma EH505 projectors and 7thSense Design Delta Nano media servers, Imagemakers, Centre Screen and Sysco Productions have created an immersive visitor experience at the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester.
Following the excavation of Richard III in 2012 by the University of Leicester Archaeological Service, supported by the Richard III Society and Leicester City Council a new visitor centre was constructed in an old school by the car park where the remains were discovered.
All AV equipment including the projections, lighting and sound needed to be synchronised, easily controlled via an iPAD and reliable. The projectors to be used throughout the exhibition areas needed to be high resolution, bright and discrete, as the ceilings, particularly on the ground floor, are low.
Imagemakers was appointed as creative directors for the Visitor Centre with the AV and interactive media content produced by Centre Screen. Sysco Productions was responsible for the installation and commissioning of all AV equipment and show control.
The journey through the centre starts with a large scale AV set in an arched great hall, where characters from Richard’s early life introduce the story through a series of theatrical acts. The royal throne is the focal point and a projected manuscript scroll unrolls on the floor, providing a time-line of events. Four Optoma EH505 are warped, blended and stacked to create the historical re-enactments between each of the arches.
Visitors are then immersed in battle with two films projected at 4K resolution onto 6m wide etched metal fretwork screens in the gallery space, which depicts Richard’s final moments.
There is also a Victorian theatre style touchscreen game encouraging visitors to decide upon the fate of the princes in the tower, manual interactive shields which reveal facts about the battle and a 3D printed model of the Blue Boar Inn from which Richard rode to battle.
Sysco used 13 EH505 projectors from Optoma throughout the exhibition. This 5,000-lumen projector has WUXGA resolution and powerful image blending tools. The dust-sealed, filter free design prevents dust and dirt from affecting the system ensuring image quality with minimal maintenance and providing reliable 24/7 operation.
7thSense Delta Nano media servers provided the complete video playback solution for the projection. They also maintain the synchronisation and triggering of media with frame accurate dependency and frame-accurate lighting cue triggering.
Iain Gordon, Richard III Visitor Centre director commented: “The Visitor Centre tells an incredible, and also controversial, story of the life, death and discovery of King Richard III, in a balanced and original way.
“Through AV we re-create this medieval world full of political intrigue and the atmosphere of battle balanced against the clinical ‘scientific’ displays and the quiet and contemplative graveside area.
“It provides a fitting environment for the story of a King of England and his former grave, and has attracted visitors of all ages.”
