It would take a lot of cows to produce a 150' wide, 53' high Louis Vuitton leather trunk. Luckily, none were harmed when said trunk was created by projection to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary at Lincoln Center.
A simple white tent in Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park was transformed into a signature Vuitton trunk via projections designed by Peter Milne of The Electric Canvas in Lane Cove, Australia. Milne was asked to create a vision to emphasize the romance of travel. The tent was awash with images of airplanes, rowers, and seascapes interspersed with the Vuitton trunk.
Five PIGI Projectors, manufactured by E/T/C/AudioVisuel, Paris, were supplied by Fourth Phase. Electric Canvas served as the projection contractor.
Milne's biggest challenge was the close proximity of a number of trees. The projectors had to be placed closer than usual to avoid casting shadows onto the tent. Another obstacle was the fact that the design team was literally on the other side of the world, so scouting the site in advance was not a possibility. Technology helped them out.
“Without the benefit of a site visit but using just a few photos and a CAD model, we devised a plan to cover the wall with five projections tiled into one seamless scrolling image,” Milne says. “This required precise positioning of scaffolding and projectors. The projection rig was housed in three 50' high towers set 10' behind the first line of trees. Two scaffolds had projectors in their bases to cover the bottom of the structure by projecting between tree trunks. The layout had to be set in stone before film could be made, and there was no way of testing until the films were installed on the projectors.”
Since Milne and his team could not be onsite, they depended on local PIGI technician Tim Molloy. “Tim was the eyes and ears on the ground in the lead up to the event,” he says.
The Electric Canvas team arrived in New York only three days before the event with film in hand. “Line up was a lengthy and exacting process rewarded by a very convincing effect that attracted onlookers from all directions,” Milne says.