Behind the Scenes of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony

by: Projectors TeamNo Comments|

Summer has come and gone, and so has the London 2012 Olympic Games. As an Official Worldwide Olympic Partner, Panasonic was pleased to provide professional projector, display and video production technologies for the summer’s biggest event, and is already preparing new technologies for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games.

The Opening Ceremony tends to be one of the most memorable moments of an Olympic Games and in London the Panasonic PT-DZ21K Series projectors played a significant role in creating those memories. You may remember a montage of 40 years of British pop music history being projected onto a large house made of projection screens in the middle of Olympic Stadium. This would not have been possible without Panasonic projectors.

A total of 26 PT-DZ21K Series projectors (23 PT-DZ21KU and three PT-DS20KU projectors) used projection mapping to place seamless video images onto the walls of the multi-dimensional structure. Projection mapping is an exciting technology that can turn almost any surface into a dynamic video display. Using Panasonic’s Geometric Adjustment function and Geometry Manager Pro Software, the projected images fit perfectly on the nontraditional screens.

Features of the PT-DZ21K Series that were instrumental in the opening ceremony include:

  • 20,000 lumens of brightness: The extremely bright images were achieved by stacking the 20,000 lumen projectors for each wall surface into groups of two or three projectors each. When projectors were double and triple stacked, brightness was substantially increased to deliver the best possible effects in the gigantic stadium!
  • Portrait mode: Using specially designed lamps, PT-DZ21K projectors were mounted in a vertical position in order to project images on to the walls of the house in portrait mode.
  • Compact body: The PT-DZ21K Series projectors are half the size and weight of competing products with 20,000 lumens of brightness; their light weight and compact size provided the installation team more installation flexibility and increased mobility.
  • Geometry Manager Pro Software: This software makes it possible to support applications that require Masking capability, Color Matching, Edge Blending, uniformity correction and many other useful functions for multi-projector setups.

A full case study detailing the use of Panasonic professional projectors and displays at the London 2012 Olympic Games – including applications at the Opening Ceremony, competition venues, Olympic Broadcasting Services and pavilions for various countries – can be viewed online at http://panasonic.net/avc/projector/casestudies/london_olympic2012.html.