London’s Gotham City-inspired Park Row ‘theatrical restaurant’ the Monarch Theatre has been installed with visual infrastructure by creative projection specialist Motion Mapping to enable the venue to host immersive events.
At the heart of the setup is a Green Hippo Hippotizer Mayon+ MK2 media server, which is driving image and video content, including for a DC Universe game launch which saw a 280-degree projection of preprogrammed custom graphics onto four surfaces that enveloped the space, using seven Optoma ZH406ST projectors.
Motion Mapping specified a permanent projection and video manipulation solution for the venue, and designed a touch screen GUI interface that would allow simple operation of the content via the Hippotizer Mayon+ MK2– Green Hippo’s two HDMI output Hippotizer system designed for smaller live events and installations.
“At our initial installation of the visual set up, we created a custom GUI to allow for simple touch screen control and content playback,” explains Motion Mapping’s Stuart Harris. “We utilized Hippotizer’s SHAPE software feature to navigate the 3D space and secure the desired coverage from the projectors, which were rigged from the ceiling and customized with black coverings, masking their original white casing.”
The first event after completion was the DC universe video game launch, heralding the arrival of one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the year. The DC-inspired projection-mapped content provided gamers with the mystique and ‘dark’ edge required as they experienced the title for the first time. The visuals created included a nightlit skyline from Gotham City which, when projected via the Mayon+ MK2 into the immersive space, made visitors feel like they were transported into the environment.
“The venue proved to be a challenging space, with low ceilings incorporating lots of pipes and ducting which restricted projector locations,” says Harris, “but using the Mayon+ MK2 and the advanced Hippotizer software features made the challenge achievable.” The projectors and Hippotizer Mayon+ MK2 media servers, with AJA SDI cards, will be an ongoing fixture inside the Park Row cocktail bar. “This means that other brands hiring out the area can have their own animations around the walls, with ease,” adds Harris.
