CMU School of Drama


Friday, October 11, 2024

Five-sided LED cube is 'standout' exhibit at telco's tech hub

www.avinteractive.com: A five-sided LED cube supplied by Alfalite is one of the standout installations at a new technology meets entertainment hub opened by the tech arm of Spanish telephone company Telefónica

8 comments:

Ella S said...

The 5-sided LED cube is cool! There are more and more immersive experiences and similar art installations being put up all over, and I think it’s a fun and interesting development in museums and other places. This space is kind of confusing to me but also sounds cool; “a tech and entertainment hub where Telefónica showcases its vision of the future of communication and digital services” is sort of mysterious because I’m not sure if it’s like a museum or a similar place where you go as a member of the general public to view exhibits or if it’s more like a funky office space that occasionally has installations; regardless it seems pretty cool. I wonder if it brings in money for the company through ticket sales, or if it is more with the intention to drive publicity.

Rachel L said...

This sounds like such a cool installation! When I first read the title of “Five-sided LED cube,” I envisioned it being the four walls plus the ceiling. Their decision to use three sides with the ceiling AND the floor is fascinating to me, but the more I think about it the more sense it makes. If you’re facing into the room, you won’t be able to see the wall behind you, peripheral vision doesn’t go that far. However, you will always be able to see the floor with peripheral vision. So, in order to create an immersive experience, you need to change the floor as well as the walls, but you can get away with not having one wall. Plus, you need a place for people to enter the space. The amount of thought that must have gone into planning this installation and figuring out how to do it is truly impressive, and the increased use of immersive technology is an exciting prospect for entertainment, especially in the area of Video and Media Design.

Sara said...

This seems like something you would find at the mattress factory. You could do all sorts of very cool installations with this. I wonder if you could combine 3D glasses with this exhibit and make it look like everything was coming right at you. In movie theaters, the 3D effect is cut off by the edge of the screen, however, in this exhibit, there would be no beginning or end to the effect which would be incredibly immersive and trippy. I wish that theater had the kind of money to do things like this, because I would totally be into that. Let's use crazy 5 sided cubes and IMAX screens in theaters! Why not? There are just so many stories which can't be told on a stage because they take up entire fantasy worlds which can't even begin to be replicated by traditional scenic design (sorry set designers!)

Octavio Sutton said...

I love hearing about new technology and advancements that sprouts all over the world. As a US citizen, it can be hard to look beyond the advancements and innovations that come from our backyard. Developing the understanding that great work both in technology and in theatre is going on around the world is vital to becoming a well rounded theatre practitioner. Recently, I have been getting more invested into tech, systems, and gear such as the Dante networking, intelligent lights, radios, speakers, and different types of boards. Technology can be so useful in theatre and make a lot of problems dissapear. As our technology gets better and more immersive, we will think of even more creative ways to use them in theatre and other art forms. I would love to travel to Spain and see this installation in person as well as the rest of the work done at Alfalite.

Nick Wylie said...

This 5 sided LED cube is very interesting, and I imagine that most companies will have something like this in the future for trade shows or conventions. Having been to a few USITT conventions, I feel like most companies are already setting up things like this. It seems to me like convention booths are getting bigger and bigger, and the only bad thing about this product would be the footprint. I feel like if every company were to buy and use something like this, they would never be able to find a big enough convention hall. This also reminds me of one of the newer Hollywood studios like where they film the Mandalorian, just a big room of LED walls and projection panels which moves around with the perspective of the camera.

Lilly Resnick said...

This LED cube is so cool. It looks very immersive, interesting and interactive. It is 360 degrees and 5 sides, hence why it is a cube. It apparently can produce many cool visual effects, so I am curious to know what they all look like. I would definitely want to come here and just sit in this cube for a good while, and look at all the effects and really immerse myself into this fun and new setting. This is located in Madrid, so it looks like I might need to go on a trip to Spain very soon to see this exhibit. This 360 degree cube exhibit also featured surround sound technology. Just so cool. I could sit in this cube for hours and still be just as fascinated with it than when I had walked in to the cube. This building that it is located in also featured AR, gaming areas, recording studios, and much more.

Theo K said...

When I first read 5 sided LED cube i do not know what I was imagining but certainly not something like what Alfalite has come up with. This experience looks incredible as it mashes something almost like VR with A larger more tangible experience. I think this concept does not come across nearly as well in this article as it would in real life. I am imagining the theatrical uses for this and how these large LED surfaces can interact with and become a part of the ser. I think the surface that intrigues me the most is the LED floor both for how it can be used scenic and for the stage managers dream of having an LED floor in a rehearsal space. I think this was a wonderful way to celebrate Alfalite 100 anniversary and am curious to see how this tech will interact with the theatrical world in the future.

Sophia Rowles said...

This sounds like a fantastic immersive installation! Honestly with the developments of technology lately these sorts of things are starting to remind me of when I would read “The Veldt” in my English classes in high school. The more futuristic interpretations of what our world could be are slowly but surely coming to life right before our eyes. The entertainment capabilities of facilities like these are never ending, a lighting or projection show surrounding you on all sides would be fantastical. It's really turning surround sound into surround everything in a way with how immersive it is on all sides aside from the entertainment. Even then aside from the entertainment aspects of it this sounds like a fantastic presentation space as well for showcasing lots of different images at once. It could work well at making a more tangible diagram for people to see. This is absolutely something I’d love to visit if ever given the opportunity!