OSK Communications out of New York created "the big idea" and brought in NY production management specialists SIAM Productions to produce the overall event.. Creative Technology (CT) was consequently contracted to help deliver the spectacular reveal.
After the initial brief CT assembled a top-flight team to design the technical specs and lay out the execution strategy. The challenges were considerable - the 420,000sq.ft surface had a number of different angles of curves to it and was 2,500ft away from the projection tower.
Sixty projectors at 26,000 lumens each were synchronised to create a single seamless image with a resolution of 4592 x 2048 pixels on the dam half a mile away. A complex projector setup, the output of the projectors generated an incredible 1.17 million lumens; equivalent to the output of more than 1,400 60-watt household light bulbs and breaking an official Guinness World record among projections!
Used as the US's largest ever projection screen, the project required months of planning, preparation and set up but CT's experience at video projection mapping and the use of specialised software to warp a projected image onto irregularly shaped screens rendered the curved wall of the Dam a perfect surface for this type of technology.
To complement the stunning visuals, immersive sound enveloped the audience while lighting and still imagery painted and danced upon the Black Canyon walls completing the stunning experience.
Augie Dellapi, CT's director of business development commented, "CT's people, approach, product and passion for the business exceeded both OSK and SIAM's expectations. The Freightliner Infinite Inspiration is a game changing technological marvel and to launch it at the Dam and reveal it to the world like this will resonate like an echo in the canyon for miles and miles."
(Jim Evans)
