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Opinion: Optimising projection mapping

Monica Benoit, community manager at Freeman Audio Visual, offers tips on how to improve projection mapping techniques

Projection mapping in Toronto marked its inception during the early 2000s, as many brands turned to its benefits to help infuse new life into their marketing campaigns. Considering an experiential marketing medium or technology at the time, it has since enjoyed a significant prominence in the marketing realm.

Furthermore, projection mapping is often used to turn a building-such as a disused facility-or an object-such as a sports car-into a canvas for the projection of motion graphics. De facto, projection mapping in Toronto can also be used to project 3D images, video, animation, as well as stream HD video in real-time if needed.

For projection mapping to work as intended, an amalgamation of creative zeal, technical know-how and planning must be implemented. Below are tips to help optimise your projection mapping techniques.

Content and craft
In the event that a project is successful, the creators can enhance or upgrade their video assets while existing content can either be rendered ads or enhanced if needed. For instance, some technical prowess can allow the maker to upgrade their content with superior illustrations and animations as well as implement better rendering techniques.

Enhanced accuracy can also be achieved in the detailing aspect of the content as well as an added emphasis to the 3D component of the content in question. In the end, taking the time to tweak the content, or even overhaul it in some instances, can drive the audience response in the right direction and may lead to the desired consumer behaviour or action when all is said and done.

Technical enhancements
As technology in the projection mapping industry continues to evolve, content creators will need to determine if the technology they are using is an asset or a hindrance to the content they develop as well as its overall operability and functionality.

For instance, upon closer analysis, a content creator may ascertain that their projection mapping technology is antiquated and will need to be upgraded: By doing so, they may be able to use their upgraded media server to enhance the projection quality; leading to enhanced clarity, resolution, and intensity.

Movement
Enhanced accuracy can also be achieved in the detailing aspect of the content as well as an added emphasis to the 3D component of the content in question. In the end, taking the time to tweak the content, or even overhaul it in some instances, can drive the audience response in the right direction and may lead to the desired consumer behaviour or action when all is said and done.

Interactivity
Projection mapping and interactive elements often go hand in hand, so event marketers can take advantage of their symbiotic relationship in order to optimise the visual impact of their messages as well as help build or foster emotional resonance with the viewers.

Fortunately, doing so has become so streamlined that companies no longer have to pay exorbitant amounts of money in order to achieve excellent results. Today’s state of the art multi-user interfaces can be interacted with to manipulate various elements to achieve the intended effect.

Choosing the right equipment
For the impact of projection mapping to be optimised, the best tech in the industry needs to be utilised. In terms of projectors, most AV integrators will either opt for DLP or LCD. Interestingly, DLP projectors reflect light off of a speculum and through a colour wheel to work.

As for LCD projectors, they allow light to penetrate cutting edge LCD light panels, which will inevitably block out certain colours while allowing other colours to be projected onto the building or object.

Thus, the final image that is generated and projected may vary greatly depending on which projector type you go with. Fortunately, deciding on which to go with can be simplified if you can determine the unique needs of your project as well as your end goal. That is, DLP projectors can generate much darker blacks when compared to LCD projectors and are also far brighter.

As a result, they are the ideal choice for various projection mapping tasks. However, the added benefits come at a cost, as DLP projectors will usually cost more due to the enhanced quality. As for LCD projectors, they are recommended for projects with limited budgets, as they tend to be more affordable than their DLP counterparts. In addition, they are also able to achieve an augmented lumen output while consuming less energy.

Also noteworthy, is the fact that having a top of the line projector at one’s disposal is fruitless if the projectionist does not have a quality image or if the image generated will not look amazing on their surface. Fortunately, such issues can be bypassed via leading-edge blending and warping technologies.

For instance, one can opt for hardware blending, where the blend is integrated into the projector itself, or software blending, wherein the blend is actualised on separate computer servers. As for which to go with, we would suggest using hardware blending for projections that incorporate fixed curvature surfaces or a single plane.

In regards to software blending, it generally works best with blends that are complex and where the surface is not limited by a fixed angle curvature or a fixed plane.

www.freemanav-ca.com