Global display hardware and software manufacturer, Barco, partnered with video and projection mapping experts, DWP Live, and animation and projection design firm, 59 Productions, to produce a projection mapping showcase for AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company.
The piece was presented Wednesday, October 5, during the opening night reception of AEG’s weeklong Connect Summit at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This event kicked off the company retreat that attracted more than 400 executives from around the world.
Barco, a preferred provider of audio-visual equipment for AEG, invited DWP Live to facilitate the project from start to finish. London based video design company, 59 Productions, created the content for the projection mapping piece.
“The event was full of industry executives who manage venues around the world. This was a group very familiar with high quality lighting performances,” explained Danny Whetstone, founder and president of DWP Live. “Even with this visually educated audience, many people remarked to me that they had never seen anything like this. There was a lot of interest in the process of how it was done.”
The icy surface of T-Mobile Arena was the perfect canvas for a five-minute show that left audiences awestruck by the surreal imagery. Picture this: ice cracking, transforming into water, and then draining as if a plug were pulled – then suddenly morphing into desert sand with old, downtown Las Vegas emerging into its present day façade showcasing classic Las Vegas culture and casino gaming on the rink. Visuals mimicked wood floorboards, metal doors, a circuit board, art pieces, animal prints, utilizing a mix of perspective tricks and animation to visually immerse and transport viewers to different worlds, augmented by lights and sounds. A projection of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final winning goal concluded the show with a crescendo!
“We wanted to do something that stood out from other arena mapping events,” said Richard Slaney, managing director of 59 Productions. “We used a mix of perspective tricks and animated sequences that would work from any viewing angle within the arena. By drawing out the movement of players and the puck on the ice, combined with archival footage, we could present a unique take on a piece of footage that Kings fans would have seen many times before,” said Slaney.
The show used 12 Barco HDF-W30 projectors and d3 Technologies media servers. “The Barco projectors and d3 media servers were a perfect combination that gave us a great, stable image and the ability to quickly make content adjustments in a very short timeframe,” said Slaney.
“We asked ourselves what we could do to make the biggest impact for the attendees to make it a special evening and a projection mapping piece seemed the perfect answer,” said Scott Stremple, vice president of entertainment sales for Barco.
“Everyone was absolutely blown away. It was the buzz of the evening,” said Shelby Russell, Vice President of Marketing, AEG.