Christie’s rental staging partner Hexogon Solution Pte Ltd has ignited the Christmas spirit by delivering spectacular visuals that captivated thousands of spectators who turned up for the official lighting up ceremony of the highly-anticipated “Christmasland in New Taipei City” event on November 19.
The stunning projection mapping performances, which run nightly until January 2, 2017, are planned and executed by Hexogon Solution using a total of 42 Christie Boxer 4K30 3DLP® projectors. A slew of bright and vibrant visuals depicting Christmas adventures of the beloved Santa Bear and Fang Tou Bear family project onto the façade of the 30-storey New Taipei City Hall building in Banqiao District, as well as a fascinating 360-degree projection on a 36-metre-high cone-shaped Christmas tree in front of the building. Not only does this mark the debut of Boxer 4K30s for a major event in Taiwan, it is also the biggest ever projection mapping performance to be held there – with a projection area of 5,239 square metres (the size of a football pitch).
Adrian Goh, Group Managing and Artistic Director, Hexogon Solution, said, “We are immensely honoured to be given this opportunity to create this visual spectacle for the New Taipei City Government, by deploying 33 Boxer 4K30s for projections on the building’s surface and nine projectors for mapping around the cone-shaped Christmas tree. Our objective is to create a world-class performance for the enjoyment of Taiwanese spectators during this festive period. At the same time, we wish to set the standard of what it takes to deliver a good projection mapping show in terms of technology, brightness and image quality in Taiwan.”
According to Goh, preparations for this event commenced in June with the design of projection mapping contents, which were created completely in-house by the Hexogon team. “For this performance, we worked towards achieving contents with a more three-dimensional approach. The specified characters were created in 3D, rather than using 2D animation that was done previously. The setting also involved a lot of optical illusion techniques, by conducting many rounds of simulations with mapping to bring the environment to life.”
The Hexogon team worked around the clock to meet the short deadlines and to overcome the unpredictable on-site weather conditions, as the nightly performances have to continue regardless of the weather. Tapping into the valuable experience gathered during its involvement in Singapore’s National Day Parades and the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, as well as last year’s South East Asian sporting event which set a new Guinness World Records title for the greatest light output in a projected image, the Hexogon team successfully overcame the challenges to complete the setup in a week’s time.
“We developed our own enclosures that allow alignment and even the actual show to run under extreme weather conditions. With proper exhaust, cooling system and optical glass front case specially customized for this event, we are able to extend the heat tolerance of the Boxer 4K30 projectors to better manage the performances,” said Goh.
The result is a mesmerizing Christmas extravaganza that spreads the holiday cheer and Christmas fun for both young and old. Featuring a series of exciting events from county fairs and large concerts to markets selling handmade goods and carnival parades, the “Christmasland in New Taipei City” event is one of the most popular hangouts during the Christmas season, as it embodies a joyful and celebratory atmosphere.
“We’re pleased with the performance of the Boxer 4K30s and are also delighted to accomplish our objective of delivering the biggest projection mapping performance in Taiwan. The client is also happy that whatever we suggested has all been fulfilled and proven correct. Hopefully this will set a new standard and customers’ expectation for future shows in Taiwan,” Goh said.
Lin Yu, Vice President, Christie Asia Pacific, commented, “As one of the most prominent rental stagers in the region, Hexogon Solution is continually improving its capabilities and know-how to deliver spectacular and truly memorable visual experiences. I’m delighted that our Boxer 4K30 projectors have once again played an important role in the staging of the largest ever projection mapping performance in Taiwan. I congratulate Adrian and his team for delivering another fantastic show during this festive season, and look forward to more exciting projects from Hexogon Solution in the near future.”
Weighing in at less than 160 pounds (68kg), Christie Boxer 4K30 is a 30,000 lumen, high-resolution, projector designed for high impact live events. Boasting 4K (4096 by 2160) native resolution and 3DLP® quality, and built-in Christie TruLife™ image processing to provide the highest bit depth and fastest frame rate, the Boxer is easy to use and offers optimum feed and performance flexibility.
