Digital Projection praises the 'Cité de la langue française' with laser technology

The complex AV installation carried out by ETC Audiovisual in the historic French castle of Villers-Cotterêts has fifteen E-Vision laser devices as its core 11000 4K-UHD y 7500 of Digital Projection, which are managed with ten Onlyview media servers from this integrator.

Symbol of French Renaissance architecture, the historic castle (château) of Villers-Cotterêts, located in the center of this French city, It was the scene where King Francis I signed the ordinance by which all administrative acts had to be written exclusively in French.

In 2017, during his first presidential campaign, Emmanuel Macron committed to restoring this emblematic castle to recover its original beauty. six years later, was inaugurated International city of the French language (International city of the French language) with the help of ETC Audiovisual, who was in charge of the monumental audiovisual integration project.

In collaboration with the architecture studio Projectiles and the digital set designer Lund8 (from parent creative agency Idea makers), The project aimed transform the museum experience restored by integrating the latest audiovisual technologies.

Due to its state of abandonment, The restoration work has been enormous and has taken time.. How do you explain Laurent Segelle, head of permanent installations at ETC Audiovisuel, “this has been, definitely, an important project for us and one of the largest we have ever carried out in the museum sector, con very specific and complicated requirements”.

Specifically, the project has covered more than sixty audiovisual areas, with the installation of eighty digital screens and twenty-five video projectors, among them fifteen laser equipment E-Vision Laser 11000 4K-UHD y E-Vision 7500 from the manufacturer Digital Projection.

The management of this large audiovisual infrastructure is carried out with ten Onlyview media servers from ETC Audiovisual, who are responsible for carrying out the necessary mixing and definition tasks of the installation.

“For the Villers-Cotterêts project we opted for the Onlyview multi-stream AV server, that we developed internally more than two decades ago - Segelle points out -, to manage playback on multiple servers simultaneously. This allowed us to offer sharper and more impeccable images, just as imagined by the image production team we collaborate with”.

Besides, adds Segelle, “we synchronize the entire network to play content in a harmonious way, and we employ multiple servers to facilitate deformations, overlays and interactivity through Notch gateway, that allows the creation of generative content, exemplified in the magical library device”.

Onlyview server provides a complete set of tools, such as transmission in HAP image format, Notch generative content, automatic calibration, 4K streaming and automation, essential functions to achieve the meticulous AV rendering conceptualized by set design company Projectiles.

“We had to carry out a multimedia museography project in close coordination with the construction teams - remembers Segelle -, in addition to paying close attention to hide all systems, something that the client had asked of us to achieve an impeccable integration of technology in the historical environment”.

According to this ETC official, “One of the reasons we used Digital Projection's E-Vision laser projectors was the laser based technology, that favors a low power consumption and maintenance-free operation. We have worked together for years and a strong relationship has been forged, especially in the museum sector, where we have carried out important projects, as Eternal Much y Pompeii at the Grand Palais Immersif and the videomapping of the Passemant astronomical clock, in Versailles”.

Thanks to this trajectory, “We trust without hesitation in the reliability and performance of the projectors from this British manufacturer, a safe bet to carry out this latest and ambitious project”, says Segelle.

Los single chip DLP laser projectors from Digital Projection offer high brightness and performance within a compact and light structure. The use of ultra short distance lenses It was also essential for this project, especially in rooms where space was limited, to ensure optimal projection quality.

The exhibition International city of the French language, which has a surface of 1.200 m² y fifteen rooms divided into three sections, welcomes visitors A castle, a territory (a castle, a territory), a space in which the history and architecture of the castle is shown with a large chronological fresco, a tactile model and a projection.

In this introductory space, ETC chose to install a single E-Vision Laser projector 7500 4Ceiling-Mounted Digital Projection K-UHD, enough to offer a awesome image and reliable on a hemispherical inverted table, of 2,9 m wide.

In the section A world language (a global language), the exhibition Language in all its forms (the language in all its states) introduces visitors to a journey around the world. Three ceiling-mounted E-Vision Laser 4K UHD laser projectors show content on two surfaces, of 3.9×3 m, each equipped with four projection screens suspended from the ceiling and mounted on the wall, in addition to a third surface that has six screens more projection of different sizes and heights.

As the tour continues into the Age of Enlightenment section, Visitors are invited to sit in front of a giant projection screen, of 6×3,8 m, powered by another E-Vision laser equipment from Digital Projection, before going to the room From the tongue of iron to the language of emancipation (from the iron tongue to the language of emancipation).

This space, reminiscent of a school classroom, welcomes visitors with an E-Vision Laser projector 6500 over their heads, that projects on a wall 1,7 m as if it were a traditional blackboard.

in the room The road of words, a mixed language (the way of words, a mixed language) -possibly the most impressive and complicated-, four E-Vision 4K-UHD laser projectors with ultra-short throw lenses project content on a 360º dome, of 16×2,2m, synchronized with a four-channel PC running the Onlyview program to perform content mixing and warping.

The construction of this dome was supervised by Matthieu Dheily, of Sequoia Layout, and ETC Audiovisuel carried out preliminary 3D tests to optimize the location of the Digital Projection equipment.

The areas Academy dictionary (academy dictionary), Dictionary of French speakers (francophone dictionary), Games room (game room) y The language of Molière (Moliere's language) They have six E-vision laser projectors.

As Segelle points out, “In each space of this section we installed two E-Vision laser projectors facing downwards and powered by two computers with our Onlyview program. The use of laser technology of this caliber favored the location of the projectors and guaranteed optimal performance in all of them”.

In the so-called 'games room', ETC has used the E-Vision Laser 4K-UHD models for a dynamic projection on the wall, of 5.2×3,2 m, activated by the visitor interaction with a monitor, “while for the room The language of Molière We use an E-Vision laser projector to project images onto a curved surface, of 2.8×1,9 m”.

The exhibition continues in the room A state affair (a matter of state), where visitors can see the ordinance signed by Francis I in 1539, An E-Vision laser device hanging from the ceiling displays this content on a 4.5-inch wall.×2,8m.

As the journey comes to an end, visitors meet in the sacristy room, and immersive space illuminated by four E-Vision 4K-UHD laser projectors that create a 360º viewing showing the evolution of words in the French language.

“From the first tests to the final installation, every aspect was meticulously orchestrated to preserve the historical and architectural integrity of the castle, in order to also inspire visitors to learn more about French as a language. “We are proud to have made such an important project possible”, concludes Segelle.