There's a new trend in architectural lighting and projection involving the use of projectors fed by digital lighting media servers to illuminate the facades of buildings both for entertainment and advertising purposes. Media servers like the Green Hippo Hippotizer and the Barco High End Systems Axon have been used in some of these projects because they offer 3D surface mapping functionality. And because these media servers are capable of being controlled via a DMX lighting console, it's becoming more common for lighting programmers to be involved in these projects. A media server with 3D projection mapping allows images to be manipulated and distorted across multiple points. This means that any image can be morphed and shaped for use on a 3D surface so that it will appear flat on a curved or 3D surface. Using a media server that has 3D surface mapping functionality also means that the programmer has more flexibility in the mapping to curved surfaces than would be found just projecting a 4:3 image on an uneven or irregular surface. Recent examples of architectural projection applications include the Fourth of July celebration at the Palms Resort & Casino and the Tropicana Casino, both in Las Vegas. Both resorts have recently experimented with this eye catching and exciting way of getting their messages out to the public. (For both of these applications, the HD content was created specifically for the client by TVP, a Houston-based video production company.)
From "Video Digerati," by Vickie Claiborne, PLSN, Sept. 2010
