Friday, March 14, 2014
How 80,000 People Became a Human Video Screen at the Super Bowl
Wired Design | Wired.com: Last night, as 80,000 people streamed into the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, they were handed a swag bag. Inside, among memorabilia and rosters was a basic black knitted cap that came with instructions telling the spectators to stick the hat on their head at the beginning of the halftime show.
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4 comments:
Wireless technology that can sense where it is and react accordingly is fantastic. We in theatre often want people to light up without being literally stuck to a wall or on a tether. Advancements in this kind of technology can make a big impact, and as cost comes down I expect we could start seeing this technology replacing media in shows (sorry, media) or adding to the lighting effects. I hope I get to work on a show with light-up people at some point!
I already knew how the people at Pixelmob achieved the effect for the Superbowl, based on a previously posted article, but the video in this one makes it even more clear. The coolest thing I found was seeing when they moved the panels around and that based on where they are in relation to the transmitter, they change which is pretty critical when you have a crowd of 80,000 people moving around. There is not a single pixel out of place. I could see this technology being used for some really cool effects in theater as well. Instead of trying to make media onto moving people using precise choreography, this technology would make effects like that much easier to achieve.
This is really neat. First of all, it's crazy how much money the superbowl is able to spend on its half-time entertainment. However, it's such a great opportunity to present new forms of art and technology to an audience that would not typically look for it on their own. Also, the technology itself is really amazing. I was wondering how they would coordinate getting the right hat on the right person to all the pixels come together correctly, but using the wireless signal so the order is correct regardless of where each person stands was a perfect solution.
I agree with Anna right off the bat, the Superbowl budget is kind of baffling to think about. The fact that they have that much money to spend on entertainment is really wowing. Now on to the technology, like Philip said, the fact that this is all wireless is pretty cool because it maps itself in a sense, no need for precise movements or positions when the technology can tell itself where it is. If that made sense.. I can see a number of really interesting and cool applications for this in the world of theatre as well.
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