Caesars Palace comes to life with Barco projection

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Soaring fireflies, a giant dancing gargoyle, and fire breathing dragons aren’t typical

sights found along the Las Vegas strip, but they made a rare appearance at Caesars

Palace during Barco’s Belgian Beer Bar at CinemaCon 2012. Thanks to the efforts of

nationally renowned event producers DWP Live and Monster Media 3D, hundreds of

convention attendees enjoyed a gigantic 3D projection mapping show enveloping the

exterior wall of Caesars Palace above the shining Neptune Pool. The star of the show:

Barco’s HDX-W18 large venue projectors.

”““The HDX projectors provided

the horsepower, flexibility and versatility we needed to achieve full coverage with the fewest amount of projectors, making them an economical as well as aesthetically perfect choice.”

Danny Whetstone, Founder of DWP Live

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The magical 3D projection mapping utilized three stacks of four Barco HDX-W18 projectors to create a huge panoramic image covering a 96’ x 125’ area featuring a single 3,072 x 2,160 pixel edge-blended video show. The large venue projectors are renowned for enlivening high-impact events with stunning image reproduction, especially when 3D, image warping and blending are part of the mix. “We had a lot of challenges that only Barco projectors could overcome, such as ultra-short throw distances and numerous projection angles to deal with over an extremely large area,” commented Danny Whetstone, Founder of DWP Live. “The HDX projectors provided the horsepower, flexibility and versatility we needed to achieve full coverage with the fewest amount of

The eyes and ears of the worldwide

motion picture theater industry were

focused on Caesars Palace in Las Vegas

during the second annual CinemaCon,

the annual convention hosted by the

National Association of Theater Owners

(NATO). Having gotten off to a successful

start in 2011, CinemaCon is the largest

and most important annual gathering

of cinema owners and operators from

around the world – an ideal opportunity

to showcase one of the coolest forms of

advertising - projection mapping.

projectors, making them an economical as well as aesthetically perfect choice.”

Style and substance

According to Whetstone, “Barco’s high lumens event projectors offer the perfect combination of ultra brightness, true color reproduction, image uniformity and reliability – attributes that are especially critical for creating any outdoor show. We’ve relied on Barco for years because of their superior versatility, brilliant color rendition and unparalleled light output due to their advanced processing.”

The dependability of Barco projectors also keeps Whetstone coming back for more when he plans his major event productions. “Barco is the most dependable manufacturer out there,” commented Whetstone. “It’s one of the biggest reasons we chose them for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show – they always exceed our expectations no matter what the environment. I have so much trust in their products, we know we can always deliver a truly memorable projection experience for viewers with Barco.”

Upping the “wow factor”

The event marked the first time that the iconic Caesars Palace hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, was pixel mapped. The content, developed by Monster Media 3D, incorporated Barco branding, a spectacular

BarcoUSA: +1 916 859 2500

Europe: +32 56 36 80 47 sales.digitalcinema@barco.com

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M30281-R00-0512-AN May 2012

display of bright flashing lights, and shifting building effects synced to dubstep dance music to wow attendees. Creators began with the inspiration provided by Barco Digital Cinema’s trademark little boy and firefly animation, then paid homage to the Roman Empire – and a little Egyptian flair for good measure. Monster Media 3D provided the content in three levels, which was subsequently merged into a panoramic virtual world. One of the biggest challenges was ensuring that the parallax between the hotel’s columns and the background area maintained an accurate, seamless perspective in the sweet spot, aka where the majority of the audience is located.

“3D projection mapping brings the ‘wow factor’ to events like no other medium can,” commented Jack Hattingh of Monster Media 3D. “Achieving reality is the key to a successful pixel mapping project, especially for a 3D show. This kind of large-scale pixel mapping presents incredibly life-like imagery that truly captivates audiences. And, because the content is completely customized to the occasion, it is a great marketing tool to maximize exposure of the event.”

Marketing opportunities galore

Barco, in partnership with co-sponsor IMAX, commissioned the four-minute show to entertain its guests at the company’s Belgian Beer Bar at CinemaCon, the annual convention hosted by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) which gathers cinema owners and operators from around the world. Savvy exhibitors and other show business types could immediately recognize the potential for advertising and merchandising their big movie events.

“Our Belgian Beer Bar is one of the most eagerly anticipated events at CinemaCon every year,” commented Todd Hoddick, VP Entertainment for Barco North America. “We wanted to demonstrate to our customers and partners that Barco’s leading-edge projection technology extends across all forms of entertainment, offering unique opportunities for integrated promotional and visual communications campaigns.”

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