Speed Racer was described by one critic as "hyper-stylised, primary-coloured and taking on the aspect of a glamorous cartoon", and PSL worked with production designer Amanda Davies from AD Events to create a suitably sensational environment for Sir Ian McKellen, Christina Ricci, Emile Hirsch and others who had attended the film's premiere.
The party's unusual location was an edgy new space in central London called P3, once a 14,000 sq.ft concrete testing facility belonging to the University of Westminster, and only recently opened as an exhibition area and venue.
With its 30' high ceiling and mezzanine gallery floor, P3 offers interesting possibilities for projection on several different planes. Using screens and walls as projection surfaces, PSL created a 30m wide visual showpiece. Three new Christie Roadster 20,000 ANSI lumen projectors relayed content from a Green Hippo Hippotizer media server, fitted with a Matrox TripleHead graphics card.
Processed with a soft-edged blend, film footage and specially-generated content could be presented as a single seamless 30m wide image. Two additional 10m wide screens completed Amanda Davies' bold set design, carrying content specified by PSL and created by Nathan and Olli at Silent Studios.
(Jim Evans)
