CPL was working for the event producers Bright Productions who commissioned the walk-in effect which was designed and engineered by CPL's project manager Nick Diacre.
It utilised 60 VersaTube LED battens, a Pandora's Box media server with customised html5 code and an iPad. The brief was based on the idea that the event became more energised as it filled up with guests, each one contributing to the 'full power' needed to get the party started.
People walked into a raw, stripped-back industrial style area, where each guest placed their hand on one of four iPad stations. A red scanner beam cased the hand and a number flashed up on the VersaTUBE wall and their 'power' was added to the total as they entered the party space.
CPL supplied the four iPads and the scenic pods were supplied by Bright. Diacre utilised a custom web page both to create the scanning effect when hands were placed on the pad as well as to prevent users exiting the application.
This was linked to the media server which incremented each time a scan was logged, with the total displayed on the 3m wide x 2m high VersaTube wall. The video feed was pixel mapped in Pandora's Box and the interactive elements were coded using Coolux's Widget Designer. A Bladerunner-style audioscape was running in the background with vocoded instructions cutting in throughout.
When 'full power' was achieved, it triggered a dramatic meltdown, in which audio, lighting and video were all sequenced together to produce the effect of total Armageddon. This culminated with an earth-shattering breakdown, and then complete blackout, giving way to an elaborate laser show, complete with futuristic lighting and soundtrack.
Says Diacre: "It was an awesome project to be involved with - exciting, different, innovative - and evolved from a fantastic collaboration between us, the Bright Productions team and the venue's technical staff. It looked and sounded amazing and everyone had a brilliant time."
(Jim Evans)
