Vivid Sydney 2022 reveals soul of the city
- Details
Festival director Gill Minervini, who directs her first Vivid Sydney in 2022, explains: “For 12 years we’ve relied on TDC working behind-the-scenes to deploy the brightest, most powerful technology on a grand scale helping to reinvent Sydney’s urban landscape and using it as a unique and colourful canvas capturing the essence of Sydney’s soul.”
Michael Hassett, founder and managing director at TDC - Technical Direction Company - adds: “Each year, Vivid Sydney gets bigger, brighter and bolder.”
TDC is deploying 110 projectors across 27 sites. “Making sure that each installation is perfect to the exact millimetre is what we do at TDC,” explains Toby Waley, operations at TDC. TDC has 30 video technical crew working on Vivid Sydney. Toby Waley says: “There’s understandably a lot more detail and fewer last-minute changes that can be made working in a post-pandemic environment.”
TDC is deploying the latest Barco laser projectors. Karl Johnstone, technical project manager at TDC said: “With the added brightness uniformity and design we can configure them in different ways that better serve the imagery on the buildings. They are more compact, more heat and energy efficient, can be positioned in any configuration and produce a much brighter, bolder colour.”
Content is managed using 3D modelling and UV mapping features of the high-powered media servers, a key element of the project. “This year, we’ve revamped our media servers, automation and monitoring system,” adds Alex Rendell, technical project manager at TDC.
With the scale and inventory across over 27 locations, TDC uses a RFID inventory tracking system at its warehouse. “It helps with logistics and keeps track of all equipment,” says Toby Waley.
TDC uses custom-designed projection equipment housing for keeping electronics dry in wet weather conditions.
TDC LiveView gives remote monitoring of each projection site as well as visitor status and wayfinding updates around the city. “This year, we’ve upgraded the image resolution for monitoring of all sites to 4K resolution,” said Drew Ferors, technical manager at TDC. TDC is controlling realtime information displayed at over 70 LED screens and display points to help with traffic flow and city operations.
Barco UDX-4K high-brightness projectors are deployed for the 9,000sq.m sails for Sydney Opera House Lighting of the Sails to show Yarrkalpa - Hunting Ground, 2021 by Martu Artists and creative technologists Curiious revealing the Parnngurr community from the edge of the Great Sandy Desert in East Pilbara region, Western Australia.
For the first time at Vivid Sydney, TDC is providing expertise and projection technology onto all four 89m-high by 58m-wide concrete and granite pylons supporting the Sydney Harbour Bridge for Sharing the Same Life Essence by photographer, Wayne Quilliam in collaboration with Yakkazoo, Rhoda Roberts AO and Ignatious Jones.
Wayne Quilliam shares his thoughts on the significance of using video technology: “We have the fortune to transition from isolated tribal knowledge of the world’s oldest living culture to using video projection techniques as a way of sharing stories to a global audience. As an Australian Aboriginal photographer and storyteller, I’m immensely proud of what will be shown.”
Alex Rendell concludes: “You don’t visit once but it’s recommended that several nights are needed to take in the wonder and spectacle that Vivid Sydney has become.”
