Digital Projection, a specialist in laser projectors, has helped the town of Dole, home of Louis Pasteur, celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of the father of microbiology with a projection-mapped visual spectacle. The show, which ran for two months over the summer of 2022, lit up the façade of the 17th-century Hôtel-Dieu de Dole in eastern France.
Two TITAN projectors from Digital Projection powered the spectacle which told the story of Pasteur’s personal and professional life. The show consisted of two parts – ‘Si Pasteur m’était conté…’ (‘If Pasteur were to tell me…’), narrating Pasteur’s professional and personal life with the assistance of his wife Marie, alongside the child-friendly ‘Du Rififi chez les Microbes’ (‘Trouble among the Microbes’), which followed the exploits of 10-year-old Alice, who can talk to germs.
A modern, immersive show
According to Denis Pageaux of IPS (Image Pro Service), the show took more than a year to create. IPS worked alongside a scriptwriter, voice actors, a sound studio and two graphic designers to bring it to life.
Talking about the brief for the show, which was given to IPS, Dole deputy mayor and event manager Alexandre Douzenel says:
“First of all, we wanted to reach all audiences, especially families, so that every generation could approach Pasteur’s life. Secondly, there was an educational objective – we wanted people to learn about Louis Pasteur and his discoveries with total historical accuracy.”
“Finally, through this event, we wanted to contribute to the influence of the city of Dole, Louis Pasteur’s birthplace, by offering a modern, immersive show, across the whole summer, where many people could come to discover him. We were able to meet these three objectives with a projection-mapped show.”
Projection expertise
IPS has worked closely with Digital Projection for ten years and partnered with Thorsten Hoffmann at ETHA International to source two of the company’s TITAN projectors. The TITAN projectors were selected because of their outstanding colour and performance. They were installed in the same six-metre-high tower and where they projected 47 metres away onto the left side of the building
The Hôtel-Dieu de Dole has a square bay area that juts out from the main facade. To counter this, IPS positioned one TITAN slightly off-axis. As a result, the projector could map the right angles created by the additional structure, ensuring brilliant coverage across the entire outer wall, as well as covering almost 50m of distance from light source to destination The project also used four Turbosound speakers, located on the balconies of the hotel.
According to Douzenel, the show was able to reach a bigger audience thanks to the engaging visuals, powered by Digital Projection:
“This technology has made it possible to deal with serious subjects while still being accessible to the general public,” he says. “We don’t see this audience in museums or historical exhibitions, and for me, this is really the key to the success of the projection mapping. We reached an audience that we wouldn’t have reached with other, more traditional forms of art.
“Above all, it was a popular success that was universally acclaimed by the public, who have come in their droves to attend the show. Combining education, historical accuracy, and a great spectacle made possible by cutting-edge technology: these were the secrets to its success.”
Earlier this year, Digital Projection announced its products are being utilised at Jhansi Fort for a historical retelling of local heroine Lakshmi Bai.
Images © IPS/Pageaux
