Christie, the global visual and audio technology company and official projection and display partner for Expo 2020 Dubai, has been drawing in guests to a popular pavilion with its lighting technology.
Expo 2020 Dubai’s Russia Pavilion, with its strikingly artistic exterior, offers guests an interpretation of Russian geography and culture, alongside the cultural and scientific milestones from the country.
The architect behind the Russian Pavilion project, Sergei Tchoban, says “We set out to tackle several very important objectives with our project. First, to produce a spectacular structure whose architecture would align with the theme of the district and at the same time feature associations with Russia as a great country.
“One such association comes from the way the small dome sits inside the larger, which may be modern and emphatically dynamic, but also resembles the traditional Russian matryoshka.”
Collaborative efforts
A pavilion highlight is “The Mechanics of Wonder”, a one-of-a-kind immersive installation utilising Christie 3DLP projectors and Christie Conductor software for projection mapping onto a model of a human brain.
The concept was created and planned by Simpateka Entertainment Group, accompanied by video content produced by dreamlaser. Equipment was provided by Big Screen Show with Christie Professional Services providing system maintenance and support.
The installation’s video content was created by dreamlaser, breaking down the complex matter of human brain structure in just six minutes. Anton Kolodyazhny, dreamlaser’s creative director says “To show how neurons function, we turned to figurative and abstract animation and universally familiar imagery such as flowers, stars, and the Northern Lights.
“The key message of this interactive experience is that just as the brain develops by rebuilding connections, the more connections between people, the richer the field of ideas; in short, that the future of humanity will be defined by cooperation.”
Photo: Rashed Al Mansoori for the Ministry of Presidential Affairs
Mind mapping
The kinetic brain model by Simpateka is over nine metres long and ten metres high from the exhibition floor. dreamlaser scanned the huge artwork to enable a UV map for projection mapping, eventually mapping content with a huge five-digit pixel display resolution.
Specialists Big Screen Show (BSS) used seven Christie Boxer 4K30 (30,000-lumen 3DLP projectors) to map the pavilion’s brain structure.
BSS project manager Alexander Shagov comments “Initially, we were given the task of illuminating the shape of the brain with projection. As it turns out, the structure is non-static and can be opened up. This made the task somewhat more challenging and determined the final positioning of the projectors in relation to the décor.
“In April, we carried out an on-site test of the projection on the kinetic sculpture. It became clear that a projection from below and an ultra-short-throw (UST) lens set-up to illuminate the underside of the model brain would be essential. To this end, we installed a 0.37:1 UST (4K) lens.”
BSS used Christie Conductor for installing and operating the exhibit, enabling one point of contact for synchronizing and controlling projectors.
Shagov adds “You can use [Christie Conductor] to turn a group of projectors on or off with one keypress and monitor the operation of a group of projectors online, including their status and any errors that may occur. You also have the option of working with each projector separately, adjusting all the required settings from a single workstation.”
Christie’s projectors have been used at a number of other sites at the Expo, including the venue’s centrepiece, Al Wasl Plaza’s incredible dome.
