The task of implementing the AV systems at the Pavilion fell to the Paris office of ETC, which has specialised in the design and automation of large-scale image projection since its formation in 1981. ETC's joint project managers David Baillot and Nicolas Paineau worked on-site to ensure the smooth installation of the AV systems after the company was awarded the tender to supply and operate the multimedia equipment by the Pavilion's state-backed organizing body COFRES. The project was designed by noted French architect, Jacques Ferrier.
"At this expo, the projectors are arranged in pairs or in fours, depending on the size of the screen being used," Baillot explains. "The theme of the Pavilion is The Sensual City and the idea is that visitors to the Pavilion experience some of the sights, sounds, touch and smells that give France its special style, panache, and sense of glamour. Multimedia technology plays a key role here, as each screen shows content from a different region of France, giving visitors an insight into what makes that region special."
The original film content was shot and delivered specifically for the Pavilion by Flair Productions, then specially formatted for the projection systems by the Paris-based company Cadmos. The projectors and content are programmed using ETC's proprietary multimedia control platform Onlyview, while the AV installation as a whole is under the direction of Medialon Manager V5 control software.
"The high-quality, wide-angle lenses supplied with the F32, together with the model's extensive vertical and horizontal offset capabilities, were key reasons to choose projectiondesign for the Pavilion," says Paineau. "Beyond the hardware's technical capabilities, it is also vital on such a large-scale project to have the right backup, and projectiondesign's ability to react quickly and offer support during the three-and-a-half months of installation was top-notch and absolutely vital to the job's success."
Thierry Ollivier, regional manager, France, Russia, CEE & CIS of projectiondesign concludes, "As a Frenchman myself I am very proud of what my countrymen have achieved with the Pavilion in Shanghai, but as a projectiondesign employee I'm even more proud to see so many of our projectors offering such clarity and consistency of imaging, day after day, in very demanding conditions. Like all events of this kind, the Shanghai World Expo has been a high-pressure project, and I'm glad to say that both ourselves and ETC have risen to the occasion to provide a perfect visual solution to the Pavilion's needs."
(Jim Evans)
