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Digital Projection maps history onto Bavarian Baroque cathedral

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Digital Projection

Digital Projection,Ā a specialist in LED laser projectors, has used its M-Vision Laser 18K to create a video mapping showcase for St Stephen’s Cathedral in Passau, Germany.

Digital Projection is pleased to announce that it provided the projection technology for an impressive video mapping showcase, Symphony of Light and Sound,Ā which took place at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Passau, Germany.

St Stephen’s is located in the heart of Passau, which is rich in Baroque history. The cathedral was built by Italian master craftsmen in the 17th century and is home to the largest cathedral organ in the world.

Celebrating St Stephen’s history

The show was design to celebrate 350 years of the history of the cathedral, telling the story of the building, its documents and its architecture. It was also accompanied by sacred music as it took visitors on a journey through history.

Digital projection

Harry Pillmayer is the Project Manager for GF BĆ¼hnenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG which was overseeing the delivery of the show.ā€œWeā€™ve been working with the Cathedral for some time but this is the first time we have been commissioned on an outdoor projection of this magnitude and on a show with such a long run ā€“ so itā€™s a really exciting project for us.

“We were looking for a compact, high-performance projector with matching optics and turned to Digital Projectionā€™s local event-distribution partner ETHA International GmbH & Co. KG, a specialist professional AV distributor here in Germany ā€“ who specified an M-Vision Laser 18K for the job.ā€

Powerful technology

The M-Vision Laser 18K is a powerful single-chip DLP projector with 18,000 lumens output and 10,000:1 contrast ratio. It is able to provide 3-Chip DLP performance at a 1-Chip DLP price point, giving a price-competitive large-screen imaging solution for installations where ample light output is required.

It features DisplayPort accepting frame rates up to 60Hz; HDMI 1.4 for Side by Side; Frame Packing; Top Bottom 3D formats and motorised shift, zoom and focus across the whole lens range. It also offers flexibility and ease of set up. The content is delivered to the projector via laptop and Blackmagic Studio Pro HD production switcher

Digital Projection

ā€œThanks to its high brightness output and performance, a single projector allowed to map the entire cathedral to deliver a pristine show which exceeded the expectations from the event organiser,ā€ says Digital Projectionā€™s Mark Wadsworth.

ā€œOver a month into the showā€™s run, weā€™ve found the M-Vision 18K to be very reliable so far ā€“ standing up to the rigours of almost nightly performances. The value of this reliability canā€™t be underestimated when delivering such a high-profile project, and Digital Projectionā€™s equipment has been faultless in that respect.ā€

Drawing a crowd

ā€œWeā€™ve been staggered by the number of people who have come to see the show to date ā€“ on average up to 1500 on-site each week, says Pillmayer. “The peak so far was Art Night in Passau, where we welcomed an incredible 5,000 spectators. According to the local press, people have come in droves to the cathedral square every Friday to experience the audiovisual spectacular. Numerous spectators even went to see the show several times.

“At every show, the crowds have been breaking into spontaneous applause when the display ends. The ability to bring history back to life and translate stories from the past in a modern way is so important and deploying advanced technology such as the M-Vision Laser 18K helps us to deliver for clients who are increasingly looking for this kind of innovative solution. We will certainly look to use Digital Projectionā€™s impressive products again.ā€

Earlier this year, Digital Projection provided the projection technology for a new immersive visitor experience at Oslo’s Fram Museum.

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charlotte coates

Charlotte Coates

Charlotte Coates is blooloop's editor. She is from Brighton, UK and previously worked as a librarian. She has a strong interest in arts, culture and information and graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English Literature. Charlotte can usually be found either with her head in a book or planning her next travel adventure.

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