Isn’t it fun getting new toys?
We’ve got one at French Lick Resort that we’ll be sharing
with you eventually. It’s a brand-new toy and we’re still taking it out of the
wrapper, but we’d like to give a sneak peek of what’s to come.
The resort is making an investment of nearly $1 million into
audio/visual technology to brighten your visit during special times throughout
the year. One of the additions is projection mapping capability, which can
bring animated projection shows or presentations to any large surface — such as the American flag
cast onto the façade of French Lick Springs Hotel as pictured in the photo
above. Also in the works is a 44-by-12 foot LED wall to bring some visual punch
to concerts, golf tournaments, group meetings and other special functions on
resort property.
We’re still in the demo and discovery phases with both, but
your first chance to see this new technology in action will be in conjunction with the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. On July 3, we're planning a patriotic video show — the story of George Rogers Clark and the
role he played in Indiana’s history — which will be projected onto the front of
French Lick Springs Hotel. Showings will be every
15 minutes, beginning at 9:30 p.m. with the last one starting at 10:30.
Beyond the Fourth of July, there’s a pretty good chance you
can catch the projection shows during major events and the bigger holidays to
add to the experience of the other festivities going on.
“For example, we can so something for Fourth of July, Christmas,
Halloween, possibly during History Month. Really, any event we have throughout
the year we can kind of cater to that event,” said Billy Stone, the assistant
director of meetings and events/auxiliary services.
“My vision is to have it represent the resort — the pieces
that we show on there, the stories that we can tell either add to the resort to
the hotel, or to enhance any given show out here,” added Jeremy Hopkins, A/V assistant manager. “The tree lighting, for instance, this could be an enhancement piece.
The 50 Days of Lights. It’s an enhancement, it’s a storytelling opportunity for
our resort to tell, using our buildings as our canvas.”
The projection technology is the same one used to light up
the castles at Disneyland and Disney World, and Universal Studios is likewise
using it for its Hogwarts Castle. And to briefly explain what projection mapping is all about:
It turns objects, often irregularly shaped, into a display surface for video projection. The projection can be "mapped" to mask certain parts that you don’t want to illuminate. That’s what happened with the American flag — the projection shows up on the outer brick portion of the hotel, but wherever you see windows, those are excluded so the light won’t shine inside.
It turns objects, often irregularly shaped, into a display surface for video projection. The projection can be "mapped" to mask certain parts that you don’t want to illuminate. That’s what happened with the American flag — the projection shows up on the outer brick portion of the hotel, but wherever you see windows, those are excluded so the light won’t shine inside.
French Lick Springs Hotel is certainly the longest and
widest canvas to use for the projection mapping, though this technology can be
applied just about anywhere, such as a star field scene to light up the West
Baden Springs Hotel atrium.
“Once we get comfortable with the technology, we can
theoretically map any surface on the property,” Stone said.
Likewise, the A/V team expects versatile usage from the LED wall,
which is modular and can be broken down to smaller sizes from its largest form.
For use in the group business setting, “we’ve seen it used
for large general sessions in place of a projection. It’s more vivid, I think
it captures the audience’s attention better,” Stone said. “It can also be used
outdoors; the sun’s not really going to wash it out like it would a projection.
I think we’ll probably end up using it for concerts as well.”
It'll all be lighting up in the months to come, so keep an eye on our latest new toy that we're excited to bring you.