The move to digitisation and growth in applications of collaborative and presentation technologies has seen a decline in the dependence on print and corresponding growth in digital media. While sales of flatscreens, particularly LED, are growing rapidly, these sales are incremental – there is no sign of substitution for other display technologies. particularly projection.
Danielle Williams, Business Development Manager for Projection at Audio Visual Material has an extensive career in projection, explaining that: “I’ve been immersed in projection solutions for over ten years. Throughout that period, some industry pundits have predicted the slow death of the technology, suggesting this would be driven by the growth of LED panels, along with the reduction in price that comes with mass adoption. What I’ve actually seen is a market for projection that has never seemed more buoyant. It is bigger, brighter, and more beautiful than ever before. And I can predict only positives for its future.”
Of course, there’s been a huge growth in flat screens, particularly LED panels over the last decade, a trend that seems set to continue: “The global flat panel market is forecast to grow by $2.28 billion during 2021-2025 (source Technavio). Yes, projection has lost out in the meeting and classroom environments that used to be its bedrock. My early days at AVM were filled with enquiries about 2m manual screens and 3000 lumens projectors. Today, when you need to communicate to a relatively small group in a relatively small space, flat panels win. Throw in a need for interactively, flat panels win. Only recently I was quoting a customer for a straightforward training room application, and I recommended they go with an LFD as the best option to achieve their objectives. You don’t need to service a display screen or clean its filters. Stick it on the wall and it will do its job.”
Creative applications
Williams believes that there are growth markets where projection holds clear advantages: “Move towards more creative applications and projectors win hands down. The future focus for projection is, I believe, where there’s a need to create experiences. Record sales of high brightness projectors are evidence of the huge number of applications that can only be achieved through this technology.”
“In this modern, digital age, consumers’ expectations are so much higher than ever before. Even a simple shopping trip needs to feel like an experience. And quite honestly, against this background, the possibilities for projection seem endless. This is where I see the growth over the next decade – because projection is the only feasible solution in the following examples.”
In addition to the 21 high-tech artworks and virtual experiences on display, visitors to a forward-thinking new exhibition in Switzerland will have front-row seats for another technological first: the combination of Digital Projection’s Satellite MLS system with Multi-View 3D projection technology to help reconstruct Michaelsberg Abbey, 1,000-year-old Benedictine church in the UNESCO world heritage site of Bamberg, Germany.
Huge, bright images
Williams has identified a number of niche markets where projection will continue to enjoy success: “One of the more standard applications where projection still wins over panels is in large auditoriums. In such environments you are looking at an audience of several hundred, or even thousands. Visibility for everyone, wherever they are sitting, is crucial. This means you need to go large! Yes, LED screens can do the job but the difference in cost at this level is still huge, and a high-quality projection screen and super bright projector will give the best quality/cost balance.”
A spectacular new sound-and-light show featuring eight Digital Projection TITAN Laser 33000 4K-UHD projectors is immersing visitors in the story of a national heroine at the historic Jhansi Fort in northern India. The 30-minute experience uses state-of-the-art projection mapping technology to depict the life and death of Lakshmi Bai, the 22-year-old rani (queen) of Jhansi, who died fighting the British East India Company during the Indian Mutiny of 1857–1858.
Immersive experiences
Williams believes that the wide range of projection applications coupled wide ancillary technologies “Visitor attractions, from museums to zoos to historical landmarks and more have adopted the use of projection mapping to devise creative and spectacular ways of telling a story. In such applications the focus is always on the content – the technology delivering it needs to be invisible and projectors are the only way to achieve this. Projection mapping in this market has exploded. Recent showcases of the work of artists Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt have been touring the country. In London you can experience a Martian invasion or come face to face with dinosaurs. We’ve just been working on an immersive experience for the National Museum of Wales which was the first installation utilising the new Christie Inspire series. The possibilities for this type of entertainment seems to only be limited by the developers’ imaginations.”
Danny Rose Studio, the collective behind the current Spirit of Japan art exhibition at the Kadokawa Culture Museum, has deployed more than 30 Digital Projection E-Vision Laser 10K projectors to illuminate the floors, ceilings and walls of this spectacular venue. Untranslated, the title of the Spirit of Japan exhibition reads Ukiyo-e Theatre – the ‘ukiyo-e’ are small art pieces created in Japan from the 17th–19th century which depicted daily life as it was. These pieces gained much popularity when circulated among the Western world, forging an impressionist art movement.
Simulation experiences
Simulation is another growth area. Williams says: “I’ve recently been involved in a project that uses immersive simulation for elite sportspeople to support their training. I’ve heard of uses in medicine and aerodynamics. In such scenarios, the objective is to create a projected world that is so detailed and real that the participants can believe they are in a live environment. To deliver the technical aspects of such a programme, you need a well specified projector with a high processing and rendering capacity.”
World-leading visualisation hub Curtin University HIVE, whose facilities have supported pioneering research in space exploration, health sciences, education and engineering, recently celebrated another milestone: the world’s first installation of Digital Projection’s cutting-edge new Satellite Modular Laser System (MLS) projectors. The HIVE (Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch) at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, is one of the most advanced visualisation facilities of its kind, and the only one in the world that contains five different large-scale visualisation displays. Its work with technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality, data and scientific visualisation, photogrammetric 3D reconstruction, and volumetric imaging has been used to, among other things, help patients with spinal cord injuries, investigate consumer behaviour and create virtual experiences of shipwreck sites.
Virtual meetings
“We all know that conferencing platforms such as Zoom, and Teams have gained traction at an incredible pace thanks to COVID. I’ve specified projection for a military application for an MTR with edge blending across nine projectors and screens. Each attendee in the meeting is projected by one of the projectors onto one of the screens. This gives the ability for all participants to feel that they are really in the room together, even though they are in fact many miles apart,” explains Williams.
The Digital Innovation Facility at the University of Liverpool, a new home for academic research into emerging technologies such as autonomous systems, robotics, data analytics and artificial intelligence, has been equipped with state-of-the-art 3D projection equipment provided by ST Engineering Antycip.
The new cinema
The advent of streaming has not been the death knell to the silver screen that some predicted. The cinema market in the UK has been steadily growing since 2012. Williams argues that: “After an understandable collapse during lockdown, it is well on its way to recovery and forecast to continue growing. But here, as in other areas, customers are looking for more. The projection market has responded with specialist projectors with RGB laser light sources and specially developed lamps. As for screens, whilst IMAX has been around for a while, now you not only choose your film, but also your cinema experience. Developments such as ScreenX, 4D, and SuperScreen are widely available through the big chains. Sophisticated blending is needed to create the projected image for these different screen formats.”
Experiential marketing
Williams career in projection has corresponded with the rise in experiential marketing: “Five years ago, I hadn’t heard of experiential marketing. It’s the language of Gen Z, the upcoming generation of consumers, and they typically demand authentic digital experiences and close brand relations. Research shows that they prefer spending money on experiences rather than buying material goods. Gaming conventions, music events, product launches and the like are all opportunities where brands who are targeting these young adults are using experiences, often with the visual drama that projection mapping brings, to market to them. And with a shorter attention span than ever, the experiences really need to wow.”
Imagery supporting public events
Another growth area for projection is at public events – think of the opening and closing ceremonies of the last Olympics for example. Content that supports celebrations, such as the mapping of the Queen’s image onto Stonehenge during the recent Jubilee celebrations, and indeed for sadder occasions, brought home by the recent passing of Her Majesty. Within an hour or two of the news breaking, her image was being projected onto the Sydney Opera House.
Mapping Pasteur, which ran from 9th July to 21st August 2022, transformed the facade of the 17th-century Hôtel-Dieu de Dole, in Jura in eastern France, with an impressive audiovisual experience that combined visual spectacle with narrative drama to tell the life story of Dole’s most famous son.,
“Projection is far from dead”
Williams identifies the social changes that will continue to drive the market for projection: “One of the real drivers behind all the above is the way communication is changing. As consumers in a media driven world, we expect bright colours, dynamic images, and clear, vibrant detail. Many organisations are looking to communicate with multiple people at once. At one time we would be together in small groups to receive information. Now we can be anywhere and still be part of something collective. Or we can be part of group of thousands and consume the same experience as everyone else in the crowd. But it’s not just change on a huge scale that is happening, there are more modest examples of it too. I’ve recently sold two x 8000 lumens projectors to an artist who saw them as an opportunity to showcase his work to a greater audience.”
Joel St-Denis, director of product management, Christie concurs, saying that: “Projection remains a very popular technology in largescale experiences, used to power applications such as displays for large auditoriums or for impactful attractions and projection mapping projects. One of the most satisfying and entertaining experiences in AV is seeing a projection mapping show on a large-scale building; people will stand in one place in awe for several minutes watching a beautiful, coloured display. There is little else in the way of technology that can compete on this level.”
The future?
As to the future, Williams continues: “As for what’s on the horizon, I think the technology will continue to develop in ways that brain can’t yet envisage. The intention is that the head will be so small that you can have a 10,000 lumens projector that is about the size of a grapefruit – with the rest of the projector up to 100m away. This will bring huge benefits in terms of the physical logistics of using high brightness projectors. I’m so glad that my job is centred in projection because I really feel that for the future, the sky is the limit.”
“The intention is that the head will be so small that you can have a 10,000 lumens projector that is about the size of a grapefruit- with the rest of the projector up to 100m away.” Danielle Williams – Business Development Manager, AV Material
Supplementary contributor: Danielle Williams. Business Development Manager for Projection at Audio Visual Material.
Additional reporting and images: Mark Wadsworth, Vice President of Global Marketing, Digital Projection.
Additional commentary: Joel St-Denis, director of product management, Christie.
