Christie projection is at the centre of what is believed to be the first permanent outdoor pixel mapping project ever staged in Europe.

The initiative of saving the small early 19^th century Breda Castle, situated close to the eastern border of Hungary, by developing it into a new tourist attraction is the result of a collaboration between owners, the Megyeri family, and the initiator, Informax Ltd. Working with Bordos.ArtWorks and Invited Artists (run by Budapest-based 3D artist László Zsolt Bordos) and András Schmid (of Christie technical partner DNN|360) they have mapped the façade in a series of stunning animated tableaux.

From June 15th onwards, an artistic video mapping show will be projected every day (and every hour) after dark, using the 3kW xenon light engine of a Christie Roadster HD18K (18000 ANSI lumens) projector, equipped with 1.8-2.6:1 HD zoom lens. And it is this that the owners now hope will help save the ruined castle.

With his background as an underground VJ, Bordos had created the first high resolution 3D animations for indoor and outdoor projections in Hungary. Already familiar with Christie’s advanced technology after taking part in the ‘Paint Up!’ architectural video mapping challenge in 2010, Bordos and artistic partner Ivó Kovács projected a huge resolution 3D animation onto a 60m x 23m surface using high-powered Christie Roadsters.

Back at Breda, Bordos explained that the owners of the castle had first raised the idea of a projection onto the walls back in 2009 after seeing Bordos.ArtWorks and Invited Artists on the television news. In the winter of that year he contacted András Schmid about the idea, having already engaged in a couple of smaller collaborations with DNN|360 previously. “Breda Castle seemed like a great project to work on, and it has become the start of a great friendship,” he said. “It is always a major task to create unique video content — but fortunately we were given plenty of time for the creative process.”

He said that the scenes were based on personal dream experiences. “This environment was perfect due to the total darkness … no city lights, no light pollution — a place where black is black, so you really can make some parts of the building ‘disappear’”.

András Schmid adds that the investor commissioned a fully air-conditioned, weather-proof brick cube to house the technical equipment — inspired by an industrial artist. He recommended the Christie Roadster HD18K as the parameters would allow them to execute the task with just a single projector. “The Roadster has many system integration as well as operational advantages,” he said. “It met the criteria for high brightness, 1920 x 1080 resolution and reliable operation in extreme environmental conditions.”

The production uses AVStumpfl Wings Platinum 4 play-out and show-control software with custom-built PC hardware. “In this case exhibitors can manage more complex shows than a normal play-out session,” he said. “The remote management function was essential, since the distance between site and our HQ [in Budapest] is more than 270km.”

Digital video signal distribution is based on Lightware products, while audio distribution uses Yamaha, Community and QSC products. All equipment was supplied by DNN | 360

The accompanying soundtrack was written by famous Hungarian composer, Imre Czomba. “After establishing the main ideas of the storyboard, Mr. Czomba showed me many variations until we eventually made our final selection,” said Bordos. “The music was recorded using real instruments, and the quality of the music fits perfectly with the animation.”

And so, the owners of the castle, László Zsolt Bordos and András Schmid can reflect on a groundbreaking work in which they managed to overcome numerous obstacles.

For Bordos, the main challenge had been commencing work on the animations while the building was still undergoing renovation. “Although we had precise measurements and had carried out tests, we were nervous until the last moment,” he said. “It was an indescribable moment when we saw the animations fit perfectly when projected onto the building for the first time.”

And Schmid added, “We had no previous experience of this type of video mapping as this is the very first permanent outdoor implementation in Europe. In fact, when we started to plan our project, there was no permanently operating system anywhere in the world.

“Defining the correct brightness and the most suitable sound system needed careful planning, as in spite of the brick cube, this is an outdoor event-critical installation. Fortunately we were able to put our wide experience gained in the areas of digital cinema and rental installations to good use.”