The Cathedral of Valladolid comes to life with a video mapping supported by Christie projectors

Xtrañas Producciones uses four LX1500 projectors for an architectural projection of 2D and 3D animations using the 3D videomapping technique. Through this technique, each of the morphological details of the buildings are highlighted by means of the projection of 2D and 3D animations. Dataton's Watchout multi-screen presentation software was used to manage the projectors..

The finishing touch to the patron saint festivities of Valladolid consisted of a large-format multimedia show called Reconciliation, that took place in the Plaza de Portugalete of this Spanish city. Organized by the City Council of Valladolid and with the technical production of Xtrañas Producciones, the basis of the show was the projection of animations in 2 and 3 dimensions on the facades of the Collegiate Church of Santa María, the walls of the Torre de la Buena Moza and, in a special way, the side façade of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Valladolid. Four Christie LX1500 projectors were used for this purpose. (3LCD, 15.000 ANSI lumens, native XGA resolution) with the 3D videomapping technique. Through this technique, each of the morphological details of the buildings are highlighted by means of the projection of 2D and 3D animations, achieving spectacular effects and a huge impact on the public. The projection was complemented by the use of 50 robotic heads, that illuminated the adjoining buildings and the spectators. But also, original music merged, sound effects, smoke, augmented reality, Zeppelins, fire, pyrotechnics, voice-overs, aromas and the intervention of a group of actors. more than 90.000 watts of sound and 100.000 of light were staged in the show, in which a staff of 70 people. Thanks to the projection, the walls of the Cathedral of Valladolid came to life and revived the history and legend of this temple. The work began two months earlier when the Xtrañas Producciones team began to carry out the previous measurements in the buildings to see where to focus each of the projectors, to cover the entire scene. "This time, the goal was to create an animated story with visual setting throughout the square in a panoramic way", explains Álvaro Arribas, Xtrañas Events Director. "It was intended to tell the story of the cathedral from the fictitious conversations between the monument and the architect who planned it", Adds. The projection was made on the three adjoining buildings. The projectors were located on independent towers four meters high.. Two of the LX1500 projected bent in a panoramic way, from some 30 metre, creating a single image on the side façade of the Cathedral. The other two made independent simple projections., at a distance of 50 metre, completing the global scene of the event. "We opted for this projector model because it offered us the luminosity we were looking for.; we didn't need resolution but good lighting power.", explains Arribas. Watchout de Dataton Dataton's Watchout multi-screen presentation software was used to manage the projectors.. At the same time, augmented reality and Second Life content were fired from independent computers.. The folded central projection was made with a resolution of 2048 X 768 (with an aspect ratio of 8:3), while the two independent projections had a resolution of 1024 X 768 (aspect ratio of 4:3). The specialists of Xtrañas Producciones managed to make one of the main buildings of the city breathe with effects such as the cathedral swelling and deflating, cry or fall apart. The projected images also exposed what the cathedral was originally going to look like and even showed its construction stone by stone.. The capacity was more than 20.000 people on each of the two dates. The biggest challenge of the job, according to the director of Events of Xtrañas, it was how narrow the main part of the projection was., for both projectors and the public. "We had to put short optics, although without reaching pure wide angle, I mean 1.3-1.8:1", Designates. For Arribas, the most spectacular of the event were the 80 linear projection meters. "When it is projected simultaneously over such a large area., the impact of the event is maximized", Ensures. "Something was happening on all the facades., and although they were animations that were integrated into a global image, there were small details and effects that made each façade special on its own.", Adds. Christie is the brand that Xtrañas Producciones allocates to its productions since it considers it the number one in the market. "The projectors performed perfectly at this event and we can say that the targets were far exceeded", concludes Arribas. In Valladolid it is already tradition that in the last quarter of the year a show of these characteristics is hosted. Like this, last year the City Council organized the show The Wings of the Angel, also made by Xtrañas Producciones, and in which nine Christie projectors were used that projected on the facades of the Church of San Pablo and the Palace of Pimentel. "We added several years with successful shows, good reviews and public acceptance", said the mayor of Valladolid, Francisco Javier León de la Riva.