“You think darkness is your ally?”
Darkness trickling into the morning and evening commutes brings a shift in our creative thinking when it comes to any external activity. You can’t guarantee sunlight (could you ever?) and you definitely cannot predict the weather, which can scare a lot of us into a closed mindset, neglecting the benefit that comes with darkness – yet it is in the darkness you can find the spark.
Light projection is not a new technology but that does not mean it is defunct. By its very essence the possibilities are practically unlimited; you take your story, find an adequate canvas, and then proceed to employ a million different design elements and animations to tell it. In execution there are differences between internal or external spaces but premise is the same. It’s a case of conditions + creative.
Canvas – the canvas is important. You don’t need a completely bare and flat surface, but it does help. Unless you’re aiming to bring an existing structure to life by altering the aesthetic of given angles, corners, arcs or architecture by means of mapping (more on that soon) then the barer the better.
Traffic – and we’re not talking specifically about cars and trucks here. Often, you’ll need to pace your projector in a location opposite the canvas. In tighter spaces you need to consider the traffic that could possibly break the journey of light.
Angle – you need to be cognisant of the angle which your canvas sits to the projector. It’s all well and good creating beautiful visuals which make your computer screen paint with all the colours of the wind, but a slight discrepancy either side of 90⁰ perpendicular can skew the whole lot and send all OCD sufferers like myself into convulsions.
Light – apart from that which is omitted from the projector, light is the enemy of your activation. So you must contemplate the surroundings and be mindful of time of day, ambient light, and things like street-lights or windows in the vicinity.
Internal v External – again it has a lot to do with the conditions listed above, although you can always project from inside the canvas out, like a light box (taking into account the viewer will see it in a mirrored reverse). You do need to be mindful of outdoor things such as the weather which can obviously mean low footfall, but also raindrops on projectors if you’re not careful or a changing tone or colour of your backdrop in uneven streaks if exposed to the elements. Internally, you’re more in control of these but your canvas size is often limited.
Innovation – we’ve stated at the start it’s far from a new technology but over the years there have been innovations which improved the execution. The most obvious being 3D mapping – taking an existing canvas with all its nooks and crannies and through detailed measurement and mapping, changing the façade. The beauty of 3D mapping is that is utilises the aesthetic of an existing property, a building for example, then brings it to life or completely changes its appearance. But even more impressive is when this becomes interactive. Allowing your audience to change or alter the visual through touch and seeing an instant response brings the activation to another level.
Creative – with all the above functional parts above taken care of, you really can let your creative juices flow. Whether it’s a cinematic experience which will make stop people for a moment to enjoy a looping video, a political or activism based brand message, an aid to a presentation or show, or a blockbusting building transformation, there really is no limit to what you can produce.
Whilst more brands and organisations are moving to AR based executions; budget, visibility, UX and KPIs may deem the practise unfit for purpose. That’s where a really creative and accurate light projection can save the day. Here are some examples of them being done properly.