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CanDo, a video, lighting, sound
and multimedia company in Wauthier-Braine, Belgium,
knows it can count on Medialon to create a spectacular
public display. So it once again turned to Medialon,
this time for an installation in the Belgian Pavilion at
the Exposition of Global Harmony 2005 in Seto City,
Japan which runs March 25-September 25.
With the theme Nature’s Wisdom, the World Expo offers
participants the opportunity to come together and
discuss many global issues that face humankind. It also
assembles the world’s talent to create a model community
for the future where humans can live in harmony with
nature.
At the Belgian Pavilion, Francois Schuiten and Alexandre
Obolensky have devised an installation, which immerses
visitors in a fairytale atmosphere combining artistic
creation and the most advanced technology.
The pavilion describes the way Belgian artists, from Van
Eyck to contemporary stylists, have included nature in
their works and how, through their vision, they have
influenced the society around them. The concept is
illustrated in a sort of “pictorial opera” featuring
several scenes based on giant picture repros provided by
light projections as well as single and blended video
projections. Each scene includes special effects,
synchronizing audio commentary, lights and video
animations.
The pavilion culminates in a room dedicated to Belgium’s
regions and communities where a 270-degree, 45-meter
long panoramic projection screen displays digital video
images of everyday life in the country.
Behind the scenes at the pavilion is a small technology
factory controlled and synchronized by a magician:
Medialon Manager show control software. Medialon
Manager controls the pavilion’s automated opening and
closing (equipment ignition and shut down) and ensures
the seamless playback of various shows throughout the
day. Among the equipment under Medialon’s control are
12 Barco video projectors, 14 Pioneer players, seven
DoReMi servers, 30 Pioneer amplifiers, 106 dimmer
circuits and 80 CanDo trichromatic neon lightboxes.
The challenge for Medialon was to sync the large number
of machines in a very accurate, fine-tuned way to
preserve the show theme and designer’s creativity.
The
same Medialon show control software, controlled from
Brussels and linked to a camera-surveillance server,
also provides information concerning the shows’ progress
and allows intervention from 12,000 kilometers away. |
