Optoma ProScene EH7700 projectors have been used to display content at the Milan Expo where LM Productions was commissioned to create scenes within the Oman and Qatar Pavilions. The expo will run for six months from 1 May to 31 October 2015 and is predicted to welcome over 20 million visitors.
More than 140 countries are showcasing technology that aims to ensure safe and sufficient food for everyone while respecting the environment.
Oman is one of the driest areas in the world and faces constant water shortages. The Oman Pavilion needed to convey the care with which Omanis protect, manage and preserve water as a vital and precious resource.
Qatar has also sought creative ways to address the challenges of a lack of food and water. The installation in the Qatar Pavilion needed to be spectacular while reflecting Qatar’s work and commitment in securing safe, healthy and convenient food.
Working with Qatar National Pavilion Committee, Paradigm & Partners and City Neon Bahrain, Eastbourne-based LM Productions created two scenes within the Oman Pavilion. One is a virtual reality underwater landscape in the Arabian Sea where visitors feel they are walking through artificial coral reefs, and the other shows daily life in an Omani kitchen. The back part of this scene is high quality video projection that merges into a real kitchen in a continuation of the set.
The underwater installation shows the project in Qatari waters aiming to restore ailing coral reefs lost to decades of aggressive coastal work and marine pollution. Since 2002 more than 1,000 artificial environment-friendly reefs have been created to encourage fish settlements and stimulate ecosystems that help coral growth.
The content for both scenes is projected by Optoma ProScene EH7700 projectors. The marine environment is projected onto a semi-circular screen blended by the Chameleon GB200, which ensured the black levels are consistent all the way around the curved projection.
The projection in the kitchen is integrated into the kitchen’s back wall via a custom made high gain projection screen and shows an Omani lady cooking and preparing food.
Stephen Harvey, managing director of LM Productions, explained: “The EH7700 is a remarkably robust projector with an excellent picture quality and contrast. The image quality of the projector is as important to us as is its reliability. It will be operational at the Expo seven days a week for six months, so it was essential we choose a unit that is absolutely reliable.
“We use the Chameleon GB200 regularly for installations that need edge blending or projection mapping onto irregular shapes.”
The virtual reality underwater scene portrays the marine biodiversity in the Arabian Sea off the Oman coast. Visitors walk into the virtual reality scenes and interact with the marine life as sea creatures swim all around them. It goes on to show sustainable fishing methods and how the fish are caught, cooked and served as food.
Harvey commented: “The installations look absolutely brilliant and show the vital work both Qatar and Oman are doing in this regards, as well as providing a truly educational experience for young and old.”
Harvey added: “The 2015 Milan Expo is truly impressive. Each of the 145 countries at the Expo has its own pavilion with its interpretation of the theme. These installations really push the boundaries for design and architecture.”
