PANASONIC
Projection with purpose
Image: Pixel Sharp
A single-night projection onto one of Britain’s most recognisable landmarks required Pixel Sharp to combine creative precision with careful logistics, portable power and dependable Panasonic projection technology.
When the British Museum wanted to mark the forthcoming return of the Bayeux Tapestry to England with a message of thanks to France, the White Cliffs of Dover offered an unusually appropriate canvas. Nearly 1,000 years after the events depicted in the Tapestry, imagery inspired by the historic work appeared across the cliffs alongside a simple message: ‘Merci’. But for Pixel Sharp founder and director Jon Sharpe turning that concept into a successful projection involved much more than pointing high-brightness projectors towards a large white surface. The project had to be delivered at a remote location with no mains electricity, limited access and a narrow nighttime operating window. The cliffs themselves presented an irregular natural canvas, while fog and an approaching electrical storm added variables that no amount of advance planning could completely remove. For Sharpe, that made predictability in the areas the team could control particularly important.
after Anthony Pickles, director of communications at the British Museum, came across Sharpe’s portfolio and contacted him about the concept. The British Museum had already developed the creative idea. Pixel Sharp’s role was to translate it into something that would work at the scale and distance required by the cliffs. Over several meetings, Sharpe worked with the Museum’s content team to establish the usable projection area and advise on the practical limitations of treating a natural landmark as a display surface. Unlike a conventional screen, the White Cliffs are neither flat nor consistently white. During parts of the year, areas of chalk can be covered by moss and vegetation, creating variations in colour and contrast across the surface, which had implications for the content itself. “Projection is light,” Sharpe says. “You have to make sure that the colours are going to give you enough punch.” Some of the darker colours initially considered for the content therefore needed careful handling, while typography had to remain sufficiently large and clear to survive the scale, distance and texture
Jon Sharpe
pixelsharp.co.uk
Turning an idea into projection-ready content Pixel Sharp became involved
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