3D mapping installations come in all shapes and sizes. TFA looks at a couple of recent projects to see how the technology is evolving. Projection Advertising created a 5m x 7.5m 3D video-mapping installation, known as Social Tracker, for the Heineken Cup rugby final in Dublin on 18 May. A partnership with youth-focused brand strategists Thinkhouse, the installation displayed live Twitter activity as an infographic, allowing Heineken Cup fans the opportunity of influencing the projection by tweeting their support for the finalists as part of the Get in the Game campaign. The Social Tracker scanned Twitter for positive and negative sentiment and measured it along with volume and trends before data were translated in real time to 3D graphics. The image was projection-mapped onto a giant purpose-built set in Dublin town centre. Members of the public were able to interact directly with the projection by stepping up to kick ‘virtual conversions’. Each successful kick converted into a tweet of support for a chosen team.
“There have been other occasions when social sentiment has been turned into infographics,” explains Tom Burch, MD of Projection Advertising. “But by turning data into 3D video-mapped content, we have leapt way ahead of the game. I’m delighted that Heineken embarked on such an innovative project and that we were able to contribute.” The Get in the Game campaign as a whole saw fans engage with Heineken Cup rugby online, on their mobiles and in pubs and venues around the country in the build-up to Ireland’s biggest sporting event of the year. To date over 85,000 people have engaged and played Get in the Game online.@page_break@ArKaos’ North American distributor, A.C. Lighting, has supplied an ArKaos Stage Media Server with MediaMaster software and Video Mapper feature to theWit, a AAA Four Diamond Hotel in Chicago. The new system has been installed to facilitate customized visual experiences for the hotel’s newly-opened, state-of-the-art 3D mapping installation, theWall. Located in theWit’s roof-top bar and cocktail lounge, ROOF, theWall is said to be the first of its kind, being a permanent 3D mapping installation that provides immersive visual and optical illusion entertainment to the corporate hospitality world. Measuring approximately 20 feet wide by 12 feet tall, theWall integrates the ArKaos Stage Server with robotic cameras and intricate stage lighting on a custom designed and built 3D projection surface with motion production capability and a retractable flat screen. The custom ArKaos Stage Server at the heart of theWall is running MediaMaster Pro with projection through the Video Mapper and LED mapper software. The Stage Server was selected for its structural strength, stability and reliability to run live video shows in real-time.@page_break@The ArKaos Stage Server is used as a visual synthesizer that allows the client to trigger and manipulate customized graphic content on a large scale. It’s a plug-and-play solution that is also fully capable of triggering the existing DMX lighting in the venue. theWit’s artist-in-residence and digital content producer, along with 3d visual creation expert Dan Block, also known as “DBlock”, have been using Cinema 4D and Adobe After Effects with various plug-ins to create custom visual effects and a fully-customized graphic show specifically adapted to theWall’s new 3D structure, taking advantage of the ArKaos Stage Server’s live video output features. The Stage Server has two full HD outputs to separately manage and run the club’s existing LED and new projection screens, and can run up to 8 layers of video simultaneously. This allows Thompson and Block to perform a live mix of the created video content on the screens and with the DMX lighting system. theWall is the brainchild of Scott Greenberg, CEO and founder of theWit, who recently discovered the use of 3D projection and video mapping in live music and gaming. This inspired him to create theWall as the first dedicated and permanent 3D video mapping surface in a rooftop lounge. “Similar technological experiences are more usually found in large-scale entertainment productions, broadcasts and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festivals,” says theWit. “With the introduction of theWall, theWit can offer multiple industries the same phenomenal visual engagement, from musical performances and special events to corporate presentations and product launches.” The rise of 3D mapping within the music and entertainment industries has been phenomenal but the recent installation at theWit shows its advantages are becoming recognised outside these traditional markets and adopted as a flexible, innovative, immersive solution for spectacular events in hospitality and corporate venues. Motion picture studios, gaming manufacturers, professional sports organizations, fashion houses and tech corporations are just a few of the industry sectors that theWit will target and attract with theWall. www.projectionadvertising.co.ukwww.arkaospro.com
Technology trends – 3D mapping installations
3D mapping installations come in all shapes and sizes. TFA looks at a couple of recent projects to see how the technology is evolving.
