Christmas starts in Madrid with a 4D show projected on the façade of the Palacio de Cibeles

An unprecedented technological deployment and the most cutting-edge 4D video mapping technology flooded the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid with magic to turn the facade of the City Hall of the capital into a large toy factory. With the show The three stars of Christmas, the Madrid Consistory wanted to congratulate locals and visitors with a Christmas in three dimensions accompanied by light, Sound and pyrotechnic effects that have filled the heart of the city with illusion.

Twenty minutes of lights and sound fired with a burst of fireworks. These three have been the main elements of the show The three stars of Christmas with which the city of Madrid has celebrated the start of the Christmas holidays. The particular congratulations of the City Council of the capital has been a commitment to modernity and new technologies that has allowed writing with light projections, Music and pyrotechnic effects A large postcard projected with the aforementioned effects on an exceptional canvas: the façade of the Palacio de Cibeles.

With the participation of Samsung as a technology partner, The three stars of Christmas has been produced by New Media, company specialized in the creation of events through the application of high technology and projections in 3D format that, In addition, on this occasion, has had the collaboration of the artist Bruce Ferguson. He is one of the most prestigious creators in the world in mapping techniques and has worked with artists such as Takashi Murakami or Chiho Aoshima, in high-impact projects, such as the Rugby World Cup or the launch of the television series 'Game of Thrones'.

Next to New Media, The Darkroom has been in charge of the creative and content part, Spyglass of the technical part, and the music has been composed by a London studio.

An unprecedented experience
In addition to Bruce Ferguson, the other responsible for the project have been Diego de Anna and Emma Wolf. Between the three they have developed the first “Christmas Carol” based on video mapping techniques, which is considered one of the greatest exponents of visual communication. The story has been projected on the Palacio de Cibeles using a 3D scale model, in this case of the headquarters of the City Council of Madrid, for which an original video piece has been created that, by the minute, defied the laws of physics.

Like this, The capital has witnessed a spectacle that, according to the City Council, has used for the first time in Spain a new technique to generate spectacular effects thanks to the multiple planes and edges of the façade of the Palace, and the spaces between the towers, that allowed “generate images that go beyond 3D”, producing 4D effects thanks to the use that technology has made of the special characteristics of the architecture of the building.

The three stars of Christmas It started with a Palace of Cibeles crumbling – which left everyone present with their mouths open – to make room for a Toy Factory that would later be transformed into a gigantic palace of sweets, or an imaginative representation of the Magi, or, At last, a huge Christmas tree full of greetings in different languages on which a castle of fireworks would start to the rhythm of the music that accompanied the show.

A real challenge
To explain it better, Diego de Anna commented that "mapping is a technique with which a 3D volumetric image of a surface is captured and a model is made.; This is how it is achieved, by video projection, Modify its structure, Create optical illusions that change reality, in this case, of a building".

De Anna has indicated that "it is the first time he has told a story with this technique. Normally striking image designs are made but in this case it has been possible to enjoy a Christmas story. It is something unprecedented, a story about the relationship of a girl and a robot with all the magic of Christmas".

For those responsible for the project, the Palacio de Cibeles has been a challenge. "The normal thing is to map on surfaces without much volume., rather flat; the Palace of Cibeles, instead, It's full of holes, of volumes, and it's not easy at all. Without going into technical matters, There are few projectors capable of doing such a job.. We have moved 20 tons of equipment for this", pointed out De Anna.

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