Actors and wild animals interact in the musical 'Zoo of Life' with Panasonic laser projection

As an integral part of this show, created for the 175th anniversary of Antwerp Zoo, Actors and animals come together thanks to large and immersive LED screens on stage, rear projections and holographs.

More than 36.000 people have seen the show Zoo of Life, created to mark the 175th anniversary of the opening of the Antwerp Zoo (Belgium), one of the oldest in the world, where actors combine with wild animals that are projected on giant screens thanks to a PT-RZ31K laser projector from Panasonic.

Zoo of life reflects the relationship of people with animals for more than a century that this zoo has fostered, which has been performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall more than twenty-three times, with a total of seven hundred volunteers and fourteen professional actors, that interacted with the projections made on the stage.

One of the essential elements to achieve this has been the use of the Panasonic laser projector., from the PT-RZ31K series, which offers a shine of 30.000 lumens, realistic color images and high contrast in large spaces, which together with its two integrated laser diodes, reduce the possibility of operating errors.

Luc Peumans, of Painting with Light, company responsible for creating the sets for the show, points out that “this projector is very solid, reliable, compact and silent. The latter is an important aspect to make a musical, since the presence of the projector should not distract the audience from what was happening on stage”.

ZOO of Life It is an attractive contemporary story about this zoo, love and loyalty between humans and animals. “It was important that the animals were very present in the show and, evidently, wild animals could not participate, so we had to think about other options”, remembers the director of this musical, Luc Stevens.

Finally, The option to solve this was for the wild animals to appear on large LED screens.: “one of 8 m on stage, two sides of 4 m high to expand the depth of the stage, two staircases covered in LED and video panels located in arches above the stage -Stevens points out-. “This created the illusion that the actors were acting in the zoo.”.

The objective of this staging, “It was for the spectators to have the feeling that they were sitting in the middle of the zoo and that they were an integral part of the show,” adds Peumans.. In addition to a series of real scenic elements, We place LED screens on the stage, that the animals showed through rear projections”.

As detailed by this person in charge of the decoration company, in two scenes they used a PepperScrim ShowTex, “which consisted of projecting images of a gorilla and an okapi onto an invisible holographic gauze, with a Panasonic laser projector 30.000 lumens. In this way, The actors could interact with the animals and the audience had the feeling that the animals were really on stage. It worked incredibly well”.

Interaction between actors and animals

These technological innovations allowed the virtual and real worlds to be combined., offering content in a wide variety of formats: mobile, 3D/4D and even life-size through holographic projections.

The PTRZ31K model was suitable for the show, with the combination of DLP images of 3 chips with original Solid Shine laser phosphor technology, which allows the projector to create perfect details, Deliver excellent brightness and realistic, high-contrast color images in large spaces.

“It was quite an experience for the actors to work with the projections. At first they rehearsed without background images. But when it was done in the large room and a gorilla appeared with whom they had to interact, “It was incredible for everyone.”, Peumans remembers.

The interaction between the actors and the animals was essential in the show and, as this expert points out, “the projector itself was an actor. We had to be absolutely sure that the projection would not fail during the show. The reliability of the equipment was vital to creating the experience and meeting the expectations of the public and that is why we chose Panasonic, which is our preferred partner for screenings”.

Como subraya with enthusiast Stevens, “The best thing about a show like this is observing the emotion of the spectators when they leave. They felt like they were really at the zoo.. That's why theater was invented.: to generate emotions in people. “Led screens and projection contributed enormously to this”.