The show was backed up by a host of staging technologies using latest audio visual equipment. Panasonic, as the Official Worldwide Audio Video Equipment Sponsor of the Olympic Games, contributed the very latest ultra bright projection technology to light up a chapter of the story that celebrated British music culture and heritage from past to present.
For this, typical British suburban residential houses where erected on the field of the Olympic Stadium within a very short time frame. In the next moments the houses' facades came to life showing extracts from some of the most iconic movies and music videos performed by Britain's best known artists and actors.
Those videos were projected onto the four sides of the building's surface using the very latest Panasonic 20,000 lumens brightness PT-DZ21K Series projectors which were installed more than 100m away on the stands and below the roof of the Olympic Stadium.
In total 20 projectors shooting their images from eight different angles illuminated the outside fascias of the houses turning them into giant screens full of vibrancy and colour. This application with a very long projection throw distance and a large, complex shaped projection surface required a powerful projection system with high performance masking and 3D mapping capabilities. In keeping with the upright orientation of the projection surface the projectors where mounted and stacked in portrait mode position, using the high installation flexibility of the PT-DZ21K series.
Images with vivid colours and high resolution detail were projected from the PT-DZ21K series projectors to blend the video content of the portrayed clips into the excitement of the performance within the stadium, making links to the hundreds performers on the field and on the stages in their colourful costumes and building an unprecedented scenery of light, colour and music that captured everyone's imagination and emotion.
The company reports: "Panasonic is proud to have contributed to the unique visual experience seen at this first truly global showcase of the new 21K projector at the Opening Ceremony, and in doing so has accomplished a new benchmark for the industry with the smallest and lightest 20.000 lumen projector available. Along with other Panasonic audio visual solutions ranging from IP surveillance equipment, which helped ensure a safe and enjoyable games, along with P2 broadcast camera equipment and large ultra bright screens seen in the park and across the country, Panasonic has shown the scale dedication and innovation required to deliver one of the most impressive shows ever seen."
For more information on the technology behind the Opening Ceremony, check out the combined August / September issue of LSi - out soon!
(Claire Beeson)
