We’ve covered 3D projection mapping before. We’ve covered dance and projection mapping combined, too. Heck, we’ve even covered a VR escape room training video game.
Now, we present a creative project in a league of its own: a Brightsign-fueled feast for the senses, combining all of the aforementioned elements, PLUS performance groups like Blue Man Group and STOMP!.
In late-April 2017, key players from Blue Man Group, Queen of the Night and STOMP! assembled at a secret location to workshop a top-secret stage production.
The two-week affair was meant as a test-run to showcase a unique stage performance to investors, theater insiders, and other VIP guests.
In a display of trending interactive entertainment, the show was set in a themed-to-the-tee space emulating Prohibition-era New Orleans.
Dubbed the “Panther Room,” performances were spread out across two basement areas within the building in front of non-traditional seating and a layout which invited guests to immerse themselves in the experience.
Inside the Panther Room
Empty rooms were transformed into textual spaces by projecting video content on different surfaces. Melissa Ulto of creative agency MULTO.com brought the creative assets that married with the organic elements upon which they were projected.
“BrightSign’s players enabled me to manifest my creative vision without breaking the bank. Pairing BrightSign’s media players with projectors made it possible to experiment with a rich tapestry of projection media to produce a final product that simply wouldn’t be possible with traditional signage components” — Melissa Ulto.
One of the Panther Room sections, called the Congo Room, employed a dual rear-projection setup that projected images of New Orleans’ Congo Square on a dozen large strips of paper, stretched from floor to ceiling, to invoke a bygone era.
Another, called the Swamp Room, projected images on paper and mirror to set the stage for live music performances by guitarists dressed in period attire. [related]
A third area showcased dancers and other performers holding pieces of fabric, upon which black-and-white images were projected.
More rear-projection was used on hanging fabric, evoking ghostly images when the fabric swayed.
More BrightSign Technology In the Panther Room
Ulto also built the video network that distributed video content throughout the performance. Projectors were attached to BrightSign media players, which enabled her to control exactly which content fed to various projectors during the show.
Using only one Mac computer to interface with the media players, she created and controlled the vibe in each area of the Panther Room. In some cases, Ulto used VDMX to alter color, speed, opacity and mapping size to create the feeling she aimed for in each space.
It appears that the spectacle made its mark on the VIP guests it was created for: Ulto reports that another similar show is already in the works.
