Heading into its fourth year in 2014, CinemaCon—the largest and most important gathering for the motion picture theater industry worldwide—was expecting 5% growth in attendance, with all seven major Hollywood studios presenting and attendees from more than 80 countries expected to descend on its Las Vegas location. It was also the third year in a row that the video projection experts at DWP Live were invited back to exhibit their projection mapping expertise on the façade of Caesar’s Palace for Barco’s Belgian Beer Bar, a signature VIP event at the convention.
DWP Live had successfully executed the program in the two prior years, but conference growth, increased visibility and a desire to top prior year performances meant the company needed to step up its game. DWP Live’s client, Barco—a global tech company that designs and develops products encompassing the entire visualization spectrum—wanted a jaw- dropping experience to entertain guests, and to deliver an architectural projection to showcase its new theater technology. The pressure was on.
DWP developed an accurate-to-the-inch, laser-scanned 3D model of the section of Caesar’s Palace that would be mapped, and worked with a content design team from Fivestone Studios to develop a concept called the “Evolution of Entertainment,” including four minutes of custom 3D animation sequences—Magic Show, Carnival, Film Factory, Mad Lab and Finale. The designers used Cinema 4D and After Effects to create the visual content, and Ableton Live for sound design, scoring, and mixing.
To display the content, DWP used four Coolux Pandora's Box media servers to drive ten projectors—including six Barco HDF-W26 and four Barco HDQ-2K40 units. Together they created a huge 3D panoramic image covering a 96’ x 125’ area, providing crisp imagery and deep color at ultra-high resolution. The servers were controlled by a custom-built Media Manager—which played back audio in sync—and provided the processing and mapping power to break animation into multiple sections for the various facades of the building. Each piece was warped into place, matching content features perfectly to the building architecture.
The night of the show, DWP transformed Caesar’s Palace, mesmerizing CinemaCon attendees with a stunning 3D projection mapping event. DWP’s client, Barco, not only showcased its latest technology innovations, but also took attendees on an awe-inspiring, magical journey evidenced by gasps from the audience. The greatest measure of success for DWP was being asked to return for Barco’s 2015 CinemaCon event. Stay tuned!
Design Team
Danny Whetstone - Executive Producer
Rick Boot - Program Manager / Audio Design Ben Ryle - Lead Programmer
Justin Carlson - Lead Projectionist
Clay Tipton - Assistant Programmer Fivestone Studios – Content Design
3G Audio - Audio Support
Equipment List
4 Barco HDQ-2K40 Projectors (40k Lumen Projectors)
6 Barco HDF-W26 Projectors (26k Lumen Projectors)
Variety of Projectors Lenses (TLD Ultra Zoom, TLD Fixed and XLD) 4 Pandoras Box Media Servers
Over 3,600 feet of power and signal cable