ETC France enjoyed an exceptionally busy Heavent 2007 show in Paris, launching two innovative new products – OnlyView 3D and the Focal Triple.
The stunning stand was the result of a collaboration with three other international companies - UK-based Stage One, specialists in automation systems, stage machinery and set creations; Anglo-French draping and material specialists Blackout and lighting, LED screen and sound rental house, Lumière et Son Paris.
Together they highlighted a great professional synergy plus a full gamut of state-of-the-art entertainment technology on an eye-catchingly visual booth, which won 2nd prize in the exhibition’s Awards for stand innovation.
The stand and the live show presentation on it were designed by Fabien Martineau of Scenographism, who was also integrally involved in the R&D of the new OnlyView 3D product launched by ETC at the show.
The show centrepiece was a revolving cube, projected onto with video controlled by OnlyView 3D. This was Martineau’s brainchild for demonstrating the versatility and scope of the system, on which he collaborated with ETC France’s R&D team, headed by software development manager, Yannick Kohn. Further technical and creative input for the stand’s various elements came from Pierre Heyligen (MD, Lumière et Son Paris), Jim Tinsley (Technical Director, Stage One) and Dominic Peissel (MD, Blackout France).
OnlyView 3D also served as the principal show controller, triggering all of the other equipment’s control systems. The live show was a great crowd pleaser as well as a real example of how all the different technologies can work together.
OnlyView 3D is a completely new, evolutionary development of ETC’s dynamic OnlyView multimedia control platform.
Already renowned for its tremendous capabilities in the real-time programming and control of multi-screen projection systems, this latest version of ETC’s proprietary software includes the revolutionary integration of a 3D engine. Media content can be precisely mapped onto moving three-dimensional objects, as well as follow the movement of the object onto which it is projected, all the while being perfectly corrected for keystoning. Furthermore, 3D objects as well as entire 3D environments can be imported into a show program, then manipulated and animated independently and directly.
This is an industry first, with no other system offering as much functionality or flexibility in real-time. The real-time element has created an incredibly quick programming infrastructure that’s easy to edit ‘on-the-fly’ and to work with generally, giving instant results as no time is lost waiting for the rendering. OnlyView 3D is user-friendly and has the look and feel of standard video editing and compositing software, so graphic designers, video artists and filmmakers will immediately feel familiar with the system.
The Focal Triple has been devised by ETC’s engineering department. It is a special effect combining three elements that triples the focal length – and therefore the throw distance - of a standard video projector when fitted to the front of the machine. The Focal Triple is ideal for corporate presentations and will also be perfect for stadium shows and other large outdoor events with a requirement to throw a precise image long distances without losing intensity or quality. Feedback revealed that Heavent 2007 visitors were very impressed with the OnlyView 3D presentation, especially its ability to track media onto the moving cube on the revolve. This could be manually manipulated, changing its direction and speed, while the video content followed the cube’s movement precisely, along with the image being perfectly corrected for distortion and keystoning.
The exhibition attracted over 500 exhibitors from all sectors of the event industry and approximately 16,000 visitors. ETC’s marketing director Patrice Bouqueniaux comments, “It was a really great success, well worth doing, and was very good to collaborate with different companies to present a total show package for visitors”. | Click on the pictures for the large version |
