VIDEO MAPPING:

Mapping? In what sense? How does the mapping and implementation of the show happen?

With the terms “mapping” we mean the correspondence between the three-dimensional surfaces onto which the projection takes place and the projected content itself. This content must first and foremost take the physical reality into account, in order to subsequently alter its visual perception.
The mapping process is carried out by producing a series of photographic surveys of the surface to be mapped, which are then reworked by the graphic design team to create a virtual 3D model. The process requires great precision, as a small error could compromise the visual effectiveness of the video subsequently developed.
The audiovisual content is developed starting from the client’s requests and a combination of historical studies and creative impulse, constantly balanced through intense teamwork. In the most ambitious projects, in fact, the production of content involves not only lighting designers, video designers, graphic designers and audio techniciansbut also screenwriters, music composers, dubbers, and singers who collaborate closely in PROIETTA to offer a high-quality product that meets the client’s needs and requirements. These resources, supported by the wide range of PROIETTA projectors, form the foundation of our projects, from the simplest and most site-specific ones—focused on individual buildings, monuments, or “talking trees”—to the most complex 360° immersive shows, in which the viewer is enveloped by a compelling experience unfolding seamlessly all around their point of view.

Where and when is video mapping used?

The video mapping technique has a very wide range of uses, as there is no limit to the type of messages and content that can be projected. Può essere utilizzata a scopo di entertainment purposes and to create amazement, or (or at the same time) for the educational value that the conveyed messages may have. È particolarmente adatta ad eventi temporanei e festività, come il Natale, ma non solo: L’alta spettacolarità dei video mapping realizzati da PROIETTA è capace di catturare completamente l’attenzione dello spettatore sia nell’ambito del patrimonio storico, artistico e culturale, sia per operazioni pubblicitarie in ambito commerciale. Here, in more detail, is a rundown of ideas for stunning creations:

• Animating Christmas or other festivities such as Easter, the patron saint’s day, Valentine’s Day, April 25th, June 2nd, Halloween, by creating suggestive and engaging atmospheres
• Creating a talking tree that tells fairy tales to both adults and children
• Bring to life a monument that tells its own story or that of the city in which it stands
• Enhance the historical center of your city by highlighting the beauty and forms of its architecture
• Projections within museums that enhance the artworks by interacting with them and engaging the audience
• Enhancing a cultural event with a video mapping that highlights its importance and makes it even more memorable
• Inauguration of a new building of particular importance, giving further prestige to the event
• Opening a sports event with a large-scale video mapping on the field
• Creating dynamic sets for shows and performances
• Works of art in video mapping created in collaboration with avant-garde artists
• Exhibition and events openings with themes related to the occasion
• Launching a product or a brand through a projection on the façade of the company, during a dedicated trade show or convention, greatly strengthening the brand
• Making a showroom even more attractive with projections dedicated to one’s own products
• Video mapping in discotheques or clubs, closely correlated with music
• Parties or weddings with video mapping created for the chosen venue, or to animate a wedding cake

How much does a video mapping cost?

The cost of a video mapping project is determined by its complexity and the duration of the content. Producing the first minute of a video alone may require up to a week of work, during which multiple specialists take care of different aspects, from mapping and visuals to music and special effects. Costs therefore start at around €4,000 for simpler projects and can exceed €30,000 for particularly complex productions, to which the cost of the projectors, as well as their setup and installation, generally needs to be added.

How to carry out a large-scale project and contain costs?

Creating an immersive experience entirely through video mapping, with projections, for example, on all the facades and pavements of an entire square, can be particularly expensive. The main solution for reducing costs lies in combining video mapping with gobo mapping. This technique makes it possible to project one or more static images (also in temporal sequence), precisely engraved in high definition onto gobos—dichroic glass discs resistant to high temperatures—which PROIETTA has specialized in producing also in a “mapped” version. These are designed to closely follow the selected architectural profiles, excluding windows and areas outside the façades from the projection. Gobo mapping is supported by Impressive, Thorok, Palladio and Iridium gobo projectors, which, each with their own characteristics, also support non-mapped gobo and dynamic effects. All these possibilities, possibly combined with the chromatic illuminations offered by Proietta’s color-changing lights, allow the integration and enhancement of video mapping, even when it is carried out on a single focal element within the chosen context. The strategy not only allows to reduce production costs and times, but can also prove successful in focusing attention on a symbolic element, without sacrificing the immersive experience.

What are the advantages of video mapping?

Video mapping is among the most impactful techniques to create visual and auditory experiences that, due to their extraordinariness and capacity to amaze, not only result in engaging and satisfying experiences during their fruition, but are also capable of leaving indelible memories in people’s eyes and hearts. Thanks to the spread of social media, spectators are among the biggest promoters of the events they attend, by creating thousands of videos that often become viral, attracting even more visitors to witness the video mapping show in person. Since 2012, Proietta has been in charge of the luminous shows in the city of Como. Over the years, the steady growth in scale and ambition of the projects undertaken culminated in the projections for Comacchio’s Christmas in 2018, before the pandemic, when the video mapping on the Palazzo del Broletto and the gobo mapping on all the buildings in Piazza del Duomo attracted a flow of more than two million visitors. It was even necessary, upon request of the city’s prefecture, to interrupt the show for a few hours on weekends, to overcome excessive overcrowding.