Digital Projection teams help CS Prod bring King Louis XIII to life

In the royal residence of Saint-Germain-en-Laye A video mapping has been made to celebrate the life of the sovereign. The façade of the Manège Royal was the option chosen to carry out this immersive show that featured the projection of Digital Projection: three E-Vision 15000, seis M-Vision 23000 and two M-Vision 27000.

The French mapping specialist, CS Prod, has chosen M-Vision projectors from Digital Projection for a cultural project that brought to life the story of King Louis XIII in the former royal residence of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. And immersive videomapping show of 20 minutes that celebrated the life of the sovereign, promoted the city's historical heritage and improved access to culture for a young audience.

Located in the western suburbs of Paris, The city of Saint-Germain-en-Laye has welcomed many monarchs throughout its history as their royal residence, but none had as strong a connection with the city as Louis XIII. This little known king, hidden in the shadow of his father Henry IV and his son Louis XIV (the sun king), He spent most of his life there and chose the city as his permanent residence in 1620. Hoy, It is a student city, with almost half of its population (23.000) students, where young people's access to culture is an important objective.

Lights on Louis XIII (Lights on Louis XIII) was created in collaboration with the French partner of Digital Projection, CS Prod, a collective of artists, Christian Salès, with technical knowledge focused on the creation of content related to history and heritage, and the city's cultural department. The event allowed visitors to take an immersive journey through the memories of Louis XIII.

“For us, “Organizing a show of this nature was a novelty.”, says Benoit Battistelli, deputy mayor responsible for culture of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. “We opted for a large-format show that would interest young people through sound and image and encourage them to learn in a more interesting way”.

CS Prod was chosen among 20 candidates to carry out the project, due to his meticulous way of working. “Christian Salès from CS Prod made the production as precise as possible”, explains Battistelli. “They delved into the historical details, like the decoration, the colors and shapes, to match the history and specific details of Louis XIII.".

El Get Gate, a building built in the 19th century, It was chosen to host the immersive show because of its magnificent roof with an inverted ship's hull and its connection to the king.

“What catches your attention when you enter is the structure of the building and the balcony where the king used to sit”, comments Christian Salès, artistic director of CS Prod, who looked for a way to cover all interior areas with video content.

To achieve, The team installed three wide-angle lens projectors E-Vision 15000 at the back of the balcony; six laser M-Vision 23000 on each side of the building, projecting on the opposite wall and ceiling; and two M-Vision 27000 to the back of the room with a projection range of 50 metros.

“We knew the front wall had to be the most impactful for the audience and show authentic colors and sharp images, and the M-Vision 27000 They more than responded to our requirements”, explains Salès.

on the balcony, which is central to the show, CS Prod installed a transparent metal mesh to create hologram effects, provided by Showtex. “By installing the video projectors very low at the back of the balcony, These were hidden and the public could concentrate on the content”, adds Sales. CS Prod provided the entire AVL system. Accompanying the Digital Projection laser projectors were eight speakers, four subwoofers and 30 Par Can led spotlights.

To prepare the cultural facility, CS Prod worked in collaboration with Alexandra Zvereva, curator of the city museum, and Isabelle Cadiergues, head of the city's Cultural Development Department. Videomapping experts also studied the life of Louis XIII, including the king's passion for the arts, the music, painting and gardening, and used this information as inspiration to create the content.

“We also use the colors of the time, that we find in existing paintings and books related to the life of the king”, explains Salès. It took the company a whole month to carry out the investigation, during which CS Prod met with specialists of the time, visited castles in Burgundy for inspiration for specific decoration and researched various libraries and museums. It then took three months to create the content and the script was co-written by Christian Salès and Michel Piquemal.

“Digital Projection's ColorBoost+ Red Laser technology is amazing. Provides excellent images. “Hardware is essential for content creation and with this brand I know exactly what it will look like when we are creating the content”.

In 2022, CS Prod added seven additional M-Vision lasers to its inventory, until reaching a total of 20, and last year the company added 12 further, including five M-Vision 27000, due to the “image quality and the new platform (Nexus) which allows us to manage deformations and combinations in the projector, in addition to consuming less energy, weigh less and offer a greater intensity of shine”.

The immersive show also included a six-minute mapping projection on the building's exterior façade each night.. This was possible by installing M-Vision laser projectors 23000 in two side towers, located 30 meters from the facade.