LA-based PaintScaping wowed the crowds at OTC'14 with a 4K 3D projection mapping display sourced from Alcorn McBride products. Four 8-channel Alcorn McBride A/V Binloop HD players provided dynamically animated, live-action content captivating the crowds at the Gardner Denver booth. The effect was so remarkable it even made in the front page of the Houston Chronicle.
The Gardner Denver booth was uniquely designed for OTC'14, the largest energy trade show in the world. Gardner Denver designs, manufactures and globally markets pumps for the oil and gas industry.
"We designed the mapping for the booth after consulting on the shape of the mapping structure, which was inspired by Justin Timberlake," says PaintScaping CEO Philippe Bergeron. "The client had seen a concert and wanted that look - something very different from what you see at other trade show booths. The result created quite a buzz at OTC!"
The content was in two pieces, a three-minute showpiece and a 25-minute informational loop. "Twenty-five minutes of 4K is very challenging for the pipeline," Bergeron says. Four 8-channel A/V Binloop HD players were on site along with four Christie 18K Roadster HD projectors. "We rendered the content at 4K then split it into four HD files and converted them for the Binloops. The job was hard for us but the content splitting went flawlessly."
With a "Beyond Tough" theme, the showpiece highlighted Gardner Denver products with bullet points and animations, live-action montages, an animated particle system, world map, a pulsating 3D mapping surface and a high-energy music track.
Although PaintScaping had deployed A/V Binloop HD players previously, the company now owns a complement of the devices, which were the perfect choice for a trade show of this size and scale.
"Binloops are extremely reliable when it comes to synching - that's their strength," Bergeron notes. "This was a project where we could not afford even one-frame delay, because you would see it. When you do projection mapping on a building and the walls are separated by several feet, delays aren't as obvious. But at the trade show you couldn't camouflage a delay."
Mapping was done with PaintScaping's proprietary software. "It was very challenging because we had two moving targets: the structure and the projectors," Bergeron explains. "Mapping had to be done on site the day before the show once everything was up and exactly in place. So we had almost no time to map. But the Binloops performed fantastically. Flawlessly!"
In addition, the trade show floor was flooded with light. "The images were sensational especially considering the enormous amount of ambient light," says Bergeron. "The projection was so bright - almost like it was a poster."
Jared Stone, Marketing for Gardner Denver, says that "having no experience with Alcorn McBride before the show, I was unaware of what we were dealing with. I was very happy with the smooth operation of the Binloops as well as with Philippe and his team's expertise. PaintScaping did a great job with the entire show."
Stone notes that the 3D mapping "was definitely the hit of our show and garnered attention from the local media, including the Houston Chronicle - the third largest publication in the U.S.!"
At PaintScaping the lead 3D animator was Barry Dempsey, with additional animation by Andrea Losch and Gordon Fales. Rob Ostir created the 3D set up of the projectors. The field team was led by Mike Cianciola along with the AV Technician Chris Butterfras.
About Alcorn McBride:
Founded in 1986, Alcorn McBride is the leading manufacturer of show control, audio and video equipment for the themed entertainment industry, and a rapidly growing provider of audio and video systems for retail environments and transportation applications. Staffed by some of the industry's best engineers and backed by outstanding customer support, the company has demonstrated great agility in bringing new designs to market. A hallmark of Alcorn McBride products is their durable, zero maintenance design. The company's products provide consistent, reliable operation for audio and video playback applications worldwide. For more information, visit www.alcorn.com.