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EXPLORATORIUM OPENING CEREMONY
Projection Mapping by Obscura - San Francisco
Role: Art Direction / Cinematography / Music
Obscura devised a mesmerizing building projection show using filmed footage to commemorate the opening of the San Francisco Exploratorium, a museum dedicated to perception and human curiosity. The innovative approach involved creating small replicas of the building, capturing phenomena within them, and projecting the footage back onto the building's facade, seamlessly integrating it with the architecture.
Various captivating techniques were employed, including an acrylic cloud tank with multiple valves to generate entropic bursts and flowing chaos, timelapse footage of plant growth within a building-shaped box, crystal growth timelapse spanning a week, cymatics and wind current footage with sand, chemical reactions in a building-shaped petri dish, and a terrestrial biopsy/cross-section of a Northern California forest floor.
In addition, microscopy was utilized to laser-etch the building's facade onto a microscope slide, enabling microorganisms to explore the architectural details. On the event night, crowd interactive thermal imaging cameras captured the attendees, creating a fascinating thermal mirror experience.
This multifaceted production showcased the intersection of art, science, and architecture, captivating and engaging the audience with the wonders of perception and human curiosity
Creative Director, Concept & Design: Garth Williams
Art Director, Director of Photography, Music: Tim Digulla
Director of Media & Art: Marc Melzer
Producer: Jennifer Spratt
Media Producer: Ari Ali
Head of Production: Matty Dowlen
Head of Interactive: Barry Threw
Lead Interactive Engineer: Ana Herruzo
Sr. Technical Director: Andrew Plourde
Technical Director: Gaston Albanell
Technical Director: Bryan Sullivan
Prototyping and Practical Effects: Tom Sepe
Systems Engineer, Music: Desmond Shea
Music: Alex Oropeza
Lead Fabricator: Hoss Ward
Director of Photography: Phillip Briggs
Lead 3D: James F. Ellis
Production Artist: Alexi Alexaieff
Photography: Joshua Brott
Media Technician: George Rosenthal
Director of IT: Sean Holt
Executive Creative Director: Travis Threlkel
Special Thanks to:
Dr. Karen Kalumuck (Exploratorium)
Ben Stokes (Mission Control)
Dr. Richard Weinberg, Ph.D. (Digital Cinema Microscopy)
Darren Kraemer & Saied Rezaei (Attodyne, Inc.)
Derivative TouchDesigner
FLIR Systems, Inc.
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