Pixera helps create a mapping show combined with drones

The Pixera media server BY Stumpfl provided precision for 3D mapping, synchronized with the show 3.500 drones for the Beating Retreat in Delhi. An initiative that included 61 laser projectors Christie of 20.000 lumens and eight 40W RGB lasers.

Modern Stage Services turned to media servers and software Pixera to offer 3D projection mapping, synchronized with a drone show, para Beating Retreat en Delhi.

The Pixera media server platform from BY Stumpfl was on the front line for the Beating Retreat, The military ceremony at the heart of India's Republic Day celebrations, which this year transformed New Delhi with a cutting-edge projection-mapping experience synchronized with a drone deployment.

As an official culmination of Republic Day, Beating Retreat 2023 presented an anamorphic 3D projection on the facade of the New Delhi Secretariat buildings. It was the first time that a show of this type was projected in these buildings, that occupy a central place in Lutyens' Delhi, the historic district of the capital, where the Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace is also located.

The ceremony also included a drone show, con 3.500 drones, in sync with projection mapping, as well as military parades and Indian classical music performances by the bands of the armed forces and the state police.

“This is the largest mapping initiative carried out to date in India, as well as the first event in which projection mapping and a drone show are synchronized”, states Pratik Wadhwa, director general de Modern Stage Services, based in Delhi, who won the competition for projection mapping. The theme focused on the last 75 years of Indian history as well as the present and future development of the country.

To ensure stability and reliability to deliver the demanding spectacle of 14 minutes, which took place during what Wadhwa describes as “one of the most prestigious events taking place in India”, Modern Stage Services turned to AV Stumpfl's Pixera media server platform.

“We have been using Pixera for all our projects since 2021”, affirms Wadhwa, “and we are very satisfied with the stability of the software. Features like 3D preview, The live input and the dynamic soft edge make our work much easier”.

Fourteen systems, including a license Pixera Director, reinforced a Beating Retreat montage that included 61 Christie laser projectors of 20.000 lumens, another eight 40W RGB laser projectors and lighting composed of 96 moving heads and 180 LED PAR lights.

Pixera software also helped solve many of the show's logistical challenges., such as positioning projectors and synchronizing content with timecode.

“It is a televised show with a live audience, so the projectors could not be placed directly in front of the buildings”, Wadhwa continues.. “Using Pixera's 3D viewer we worked out the positions of the projectors during the planning phase”.

The projection show was scripted and directed by Atul Tiwari, while the content was created by Knownsense Studios.