In Brief:
- Created by Jon Sharpe of Pixel Sharp
- Power: Anker Solix F3800 rechargeable lithium batteries
- Projection: Two double stacks of Panasonic RQ35 30,000 lm 3-Chip DLP™ projectors
- Control: A Datapath Fx4
- Projection mapping software: MadMapper
By far the hottest ticket to purchase in the UK this summer was not for a rock tour, festival, or West End show. It was for a chance to see in person a thousand-year-old embroidery on loan from France at the British Museum. So sought after were the time slots to view the Bayeux Tapestry that people waited online for up to 12 hours to buy a ticket.
The medieval artwork, which depicts William the Conquerer fighting the English King Harold on the beach at the Battle of Hastings, also arrived in the country by sea via an almost military operation, but with fewer casualties. It was shipped in a shock-absorbent cage inside a climate controlled case and driven by truck with a police escort using the Eurotunnel, and only after two test missions with a decoy. To celebrate its safe arrival, the British Museum hired Pixel Sharp to project a message on the White Cliffs of Dover thanking the French for the loan.
Pixel Sharp's founder and director, Jon Sharpe, had previously worked on the White Cliffs in campaigns for multiple other companies, but he feels this one was special. Sharpe says, "It was incredible to be contacted by the British Museum because of the amazing historical importance of it." The White Cliffs are regularly used for projection mapping for everything from beer commercials to movie launches because the Cliffs are both an iconic landmark and a nice blank canvas on which to project. However, Sharpe says, "In terms of context, it's probably one of the best projects we've done there because Dover is a key port and has links to France so it felt absolutely appropriate and the right place to say welcome and thank you. A nice marriage of landscape, projection technology, and message. It had real meaning."
Another reason for the popularity of the Cliffs as a projection site is a handy strip of land jutting out in front of one section. Officially a nature reserve, it's a good place to set up gear. For the Bayeux Tapestry spectacle on the night of July 9, Sharpe used Anker Solix F3800 rechargeable lithium batteries to power two double stacks of Panasonic RQ35 30,000 lm 3-Chip DLP™ projectors which covered about 200M of the Cliffs. A Datapath Fx4 was used for control and the projection mapping software was MadMapper.
The content was provided by Elliot Wheatland-Clinch, senior content producer at the British Museum, with input from Sharpe. He says, "Originally they wanted to use a section with French blue, which is a very navy blue, and dark colors don't project well, so we needed to punch up the colors to keep it as bright as possible. Whenever you do projection, you want to keep everything bright otherwise you lose detail. Dark colors only work if they are surrounded by bright colors. Any lettering, for example 'Merci Beaucoup,' needs to be large because there is some green moss and dark patches on the White Cliffs and you really need everything to pop or it won't be legible."
Ghost Projection
One challenge that was out of the projection designer's control was the weather. He says, "There was a low-hanging, rolling mist coming over the top of the cliffs." Initially, this affected visibility and obscured the image, but even when the sea breeze cleared it, he says, "There was so much moisture hanging in the air you could see the top of the projection light spilling out above the Cliffs. We had to mask the projection to create a neat rectangular image without the light bleeding. On a clear night, you would lose anything that spilled over the top of the cliff into the distance but the thickness of the mist was capturing it."
Another challenge from the weather was lightning. Sharpe says, "After about four hours we had to pack up a little earlier than planned because of an electrical storm. We were getting a bit nervous because there wasn't much else around, just us with our pop-up tent and a couple hundred grand's worth of projectors and batteries."
The projection was so successful that French President Emmanuel Macron posted about it on social media. Vive l’Entente cordiale!
The Bayeux Tapestry goes on display at the British Museum on September 10.