CarpeDiem Evènement, an event staging company located in the French Alps, is currently in the process of establishing a new virtual recording studio known as Studio 321.
Following their recent relocation to more spacious premises, CarpeDiem Evènement took advantage of the available resources by converting a previously unused area measuring 321 square meters into a virtual studio. This studio is equipped with AV technology and provides exceptional facilities to cater to the needs of both local and international brands and companies in the region.
The studio features a main virtual production studio space for recording and an adjoining 40-sqm production office. In the main virtual production area is a 24m x 4m white cyclorama wall with a 90° rounded floor angle, as well as a white floor covering allowing for the recording of small and large productions, from photo shoots and company presentations to cinematic video productions, using the latest technologies. Studio 321 turned the L-shaped cyclorama into a large canvas video projection screen, offering multiple camera angles for an immersive and impactful visual background.
Studio 321’s goal was to be versatile, which is why the company opted for video projection technology from Digital Projection instead of LED. Andréas Vion-Endresen, CarpeDiem project manager and director of Studio 321, elaborates: “Among other things we host photo shoots, which is why we needed a uniformly white surface everywhere to minimise shadows. This simply isn’t possible with an LED screen in the background.”
Another deciding factor was the cost of the screen: “The studio needed to be operational every day to cater to last-minute requests. Keeping a fixed 96 sqm LED screen in the studio would have been a very costly investment in terms of the power requirements, not to mention the price of a high-quality screen to match filming requirements,” he adds.
The studio calculated that, in order to achieve the right visual impact, a total of four video projectors would be required, CarpeDiem Evènement relied on two 1-Chip DLP® Digital Projection M-Vision Laser 21000 projectors, whose 21,000 lumens of brightness and WUXGA resolution would ensure an immersive and captivating experience for both live and recorded events. The addition of ColorBoost+Red laser technology to these projectors also produce a much expanded colour gamut ensuring the most realistic reproduction of images.
Vion-Endresen explains: “We already had two Digital Projection M-Vision laser projection with soft edge blending for our event requirements. After conducting successful tests with them, we realised that we only needed two more projectors to complete this set-up. The last step was to try and find a way to easily take them down from the ceiling for our event jobs and reinstall them quickly to make this even more cost-effective.”
Rigged on the ceiling, the four M-Vision Lasers projector edge blend content on the impressive 24 metre long screen, using HDBaseT network connexion. To save time during reinstallation, the company opted for VIOSO 6 automatic re-calibration technology, making the studio operational within an hour. In the background is a VIOSO 6 media server in a custom rack-mounted PC couple with a Datapath 2xHDMI 4K 4:4:4 capture card. A TouchDesigner platform manages sources and provides access to a touch-based graphical remote control for studio to use, outputting signals to the M-Vision laser projectors using VIOSO calibration technology. Twelve Martin MAC Aura fixed lighting fixtures, four Yamaha VXC8 ceiling speakers, one Yamaha MTX3 audio matric and eight-channel Yamaha XMV amplifier complete the set-up.
“The time saved through the VIOSO auto-cal tool is the cornerstone of our studio’s economic model,” confirms Vion-Endresen. “We invested over €100,000 in this facility and being able to use our M-Vision laser projectors in the field one day and in the studio the next day allows us to quickly capitalise on our investment.”
Another advantage from the projectors lies in their quietness and solid-state laser technology, as well as the ability to maintain consistent brightness levels over time. During the testing period, Vion-Endresen compared lamp-source with laser technology, ultimately confirming that with the laser projectors, “the light intensity doesn’t decrease, regardless of the projection time, and there is virtually zero maintenance.”
“Having four high-power projectors in our portfolio allows us to fulfil a variety of requests in events. We use them for large screen projection during conventions, as well as doing mapping on buildings, always creating an immersive and captivating experience. The projectors are powerful, lightweight, and ideal for any application.”
Jérôme Cadilhac, business development manager of Digital Projection agrees that the M-Vision projectors fit Studio 321’s goals, stating: “I have been working with CarpeDiem Evènement for about ten years and seen the company grow spectacularly over the years. The creation of Studio 321 is a new step forward and I am convinced that our M-Vision 21000 will fulfil their new mission perfectly. Not only are projectors robust and of exceptional quality, their versatility makes them ideal for both indoor and outdoor use. Coupled with VIOSO, to ensure rapid and efficient auto-calibration of the system, the studio will cause a real excitement!”
