CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Projection mapping onto a family home

PROJECTION MAPPING: Advertising agencies are increasingly being asked to use projection mapping, whether it be for giant billboards, political rallies or meetings, etc. Another source of interest is its use to broadcast messages on urban surfaces.

12 comments:

Jason Cohen said...

I think this is a really cool commercial! My biggest complaint about it i wasn't sure what the projection surface was a first. I soon came to realize that it was the house, but part of me wasn't sure if it was in a sound stage or the real house. I think this could have been clarified if they had spent a little more time setting this up. My other critique is that at points the media was very busy, and my eye wasn't sure where to look. For example, when he was talking about punk music I saw the drummer on the left, but completely missed what the people were doing on the right. Other than that, and a few other minor things I think this is a great commercial!

Keith Kelly said...

This is probably one of the best applications of media I've see. The media was fast and keep your interest like every commercial would. I would watch that commercial ten times and it would still keep my interest. It didn't succeed however as being memorable, for I still don't remember the product/company being advertised. Within the article there is a link to the making of the projection. This video was ever more interesting to watch to see some of the many aspects that went into its creation. The projector they used was huge and produced an intense/bright color. I wonder how many hours went into its creation, I would have to guess months. Very cool and this technology is only going to continue to get stronger.

Camille Rohrlich said...

It seems that animating this on the computer would be easier than going through the trouble of projection mapping on a house. I watched the making of video, and basically they filmed all of the different scenes projected onto the house in a sound stage, with green screen and all. Then they animated the sequence, and projected it onto the house. Why didn’t they just do that last part on a computer too? I realize that the challenge of project mapping onto a house and all the intricacies of that process must have been a wonderful experience for the people who created this project, but it seems like that would be a lot more expensive, since there’s a lot of people and specialized equipment involved. Maybe the insurance company that commissioned the project wanted to pull off an impressive technical stunt for publicity, who knows… It’s just confusing because it all ends up in a video anyways, and I’m not sure that the mapping technique provided a final product that is very different from what the entirely computerized version might have been. Projection mapping is super cool, and it makes lot of sense to use it for live events and installations, but seemingly not so much for this type of thing.

Media people who do projection mapping, thoughts?

Jess Bergson said...

I had the exact same thought as Camille while watching this video. With the technology we have today, I do not understand why this company didn't opt to save their money and create this whole commercial on a computer rather than mapping it onto an actual house. With that said, I think this is a really cool idea and I would have love to experience the projection mapping in person. Watching this video made me think about the media I have experienced here at CMU. What I loved about the projections in this video is that they took an inanimate object and made it come to life. I wonder if we can apply this same idea more to the media we do in theater.

Unknown said...

This is a perfect example of how projection is changing the way we look at structures, however, I think was really displayed in the wrong context. If I were watching this commercial, I would probably assume that all of this was done through editing instead of this being a shot of the projection taking place. I've seen some awesome projection work done in a similar fashion, but it was live, not via a screen, which is far more interesting, because you actually understand whats going on. This technology is a bit much for a commercial. Clever, but still a bit much.

Tom Kelly said...

I agree with Brennan, at first I thought that this was just an overlay of special effects in order to make a cool commercial or video. During my last mini I learned about projection mapping and now understand how this is possible. Although this video is obviously edited so that it has more contrast and saturation on the building, it is definitely a great way to change how we look at a structure. when i watch videos like this i am reminded of videos like "world of Glass"by Corning glass. It set my mind racing because it adds so many layers into telling a story, only if done correctly.

Kat Landry said...

I LOVE PROJECTION MAPPING.
This is such a cool concept for a commercial, and I totally love that this kind of technology is being introduced to advertisement. Like the others, my only complaint would be that it isn't clear whether it was done with projection mapping or edited in on a computer. I'm not sure how they would show that it is actually done that way in person, but I would love it if they could figure it out. Keith says there's a link to the making of the video- I suppose that's something. Just wish that it could be appreciated since it is such an over-the-top venture.

Albert Cisneros said...

Yeah, I definitely lost that sense of wonder that I usually have when something is projection mapped really well. Most of that excitement comes from seeing it live and being able to appreciate the reality of the technology. I agree with a lot of the people above who were definitely less amazed because they were watching the mapping happen on film rather than seeing it in person. I also found it really comical that all of this was done by an insurance company. The narrators voice, the visuals, and the transitions were all so intriguing that it was anticlimactic when the insurance company stamped their logo on the end of the video. Oh well, I guess that's one way to make their name stick.

simone.zwaren said...

THIS IS SUCH A COOL ADVERTISEMENT, damn. Projection mapping is coming such a long way and it is exciting to see how this art form is developing. Watching this house transform makes me wonder how we can use that style of projection mapping to transform sets. I am imagining an entire venue being transformed in front of the audience to follow a story or character’s thought or dream. That could be such an exciting audience experience. A lot of today’s theater is about emersion, especially after the success of Sleep No More. It is a shame that media is actually being forced into shows when, really it has a place because when done properly the effects are beautiful. A lot of the media programs and designs for architectural proposes, I would imagine, must be making their way into outdoor theater venues. The examples I can think of offhand are electronic music concerts. Projection mapping has such great potential to go so much further.

Unknown said...

Wow. That was absolutely beautiful and left me speechless. I loved how fluid it all was and how there were just seamless transitions between everything. The best part is definitely how the home didn't even seem like there was anything special to it in the beginning and then exploded into action. I'm curious as to whether or not the projector moved at the same time as the camera. After watching the making of video it seems like there were two projectors but I'm still not quite clear. Regardless, it was absolutely beautiful and very well done.

Evan Smith said...

There is a time and a place for everything, obviously a home is not really the ideal type of place to do something like this because you have the Homeowners Association, and surely some neighbors who won’t take too kindly to advertisements displayed on a house. I already have a hard enough time trying to deal with political signs during election time. Getting ready for a big event would be a bit more appropriate thing to do, such as the opening of a museum, or having a gala. It definitely adds a new technique to advertising, or just showing off in general. Although to make it work you’ve got to make it look good. Projection mapping has probably been more frequently done with the newest car model coming out. It’s all about the hype =, and you’ve got to bring it, to have others put their money where your mouth is.

jcmertz said...

I must say I really enjoyed the "making of" video more than the actual video. While the video was neat, it was very cinematic and too easy to pass off as animation. The behind the scenes video showed off the projection technology in an artistic way. Watching a camera dolly to position or a crane hoist a massive projector in a well edited, cinematic way was much, much cooler than the actual video. The people behind this are artists as much as marketers, that much is clear, and the work they have created is really stunning.