Christie projectors helped create the visual imagery for Verdi's 'Requiem'

For the staging of Verdi's 'Requiem', The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra accompanied the performance with a mapping provided by Christie HS Series laser phosphor projectors.

The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC) performed a staging in the Barcelona Auditorium of the Requiem by Verdi where music was fused with videomapping techniques. The company Slidemania was in charge of creating visual imagery that involved the audience in the emotional context of the piece.

“The OBC and the Barcelona Auditorium, home of the city's symphony orchestra, They wanted to give a new dimension to the interpretation of the Requiem also Verdi, that transcended the simple fact of the concert, taking advantage of new technologies, but being at the same time fully respectful of the primacy of music and the subsidiarity of projection. They proposed to us to develop a projection that would accompany the approximately 90 minutes of duration of the work”, explains Fausto Morales Gil, artistic director of Slidemedia.

The blending projection covered the entire back wall of the auditorium (after the orchestra and the choir) more part of the walls and side boxes. The latter had to be masked by the Slidemedia team so as not to dazzle viewers.. Between the sides and the front, an area of ​​70×12 meters approximately.

A sine qua non condition was that the projectors had to emit zero sound noise, since in this type of events silence must be absolute. That's why Slidemedia opted for the HS Series laser phosphor models. Christie, which have a noise level of 39 db. “The truth is that the little noise they generate passed the test of an audience as demanding as that of the opera”, comments Fausto Morales.

The central projector was located in the middle area of ​​the auditorium, specifically in the cabin enabled for this, with an optical lens 2.0 and at a projection distance of 41 metros. The other two lateral projectors were located in the markets of the first amphitheater, where the images were intended to create the immersive sensation. The lenses used in this case were 1.2 and the projection distance of 38 metros.

One of the main challenges for Slidemedia was the architectural characteristics of the space: “The Auditori has very particular shapes, with planes in different orientations, large structures that support lights and audio systems. Besides, It has satin wood wall covering. “We had to do a series of calculations in rehearsals to ensure that the projection was going to be correct and to have projectors with enough power like the Christie ones so that it was illuminated perfectly”, Morales relates.

Fausto Morales also highlights the BoldColor technology incorporated in these devices, that achieves great fidelity and color saturation. “This technology is ideal for our type of work, since it is based on the spectacular nature of the images and special effects. We create our content mainly digitally and with 3D animation and motion graphics programs., so color saturation gives strength and fidelity to our images compared to what we see on our monitors at the time of editing, which is what interests us”.

The contents were launched from a MacPro 2016 con 12 GB of graphics, 32 Gb of RAM and several Full HD outputs. The software used was Millumin 2, a program that among many functions has the option of blending/warping, ideal for mappings. The aspect ratio was 48:9 and the resolution used of 5,760×1.200 pixels.

Fausto Morales also wanted to mention the support of Christie and his partner Charmex in this project, who supplied the equipment and performed the pre and post-sale services. “Support was absolutely crucial, and without him we would not have been able to carry out this show with the quality required by all parties involved.. We have had a very close and productive relationship with Charmex for many years.. Christie has shown great interest in our work, and that is something we value very much”.

https://vimeo.com/252142238