Apollo 50

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, QED Productions were brought in to deliver a monumental projection mapping and immersive AV experience. The project combined archival NASA footage, generative visual effects and multi-channel spatial audio to recreate the drama of the space race. In my role as Technical Production Manager at QED Productions I supported the artists, Mader Wiermann, in creating the 3D model UV workflow that allowed them to create content that could wrap the structure with contiguous content for a disguise media server workflow. I and my colleague then installed the AV technology onsite and video mapped the structure.

The anniversary demanded something that went beyond a standard retrospective screening. The experience needed to be emotionally impactful, historically accurate and technically spectacular, all within tight installation windows. The content had already been designed and developed to an advanced level so my task was to take what had already been created in C4D and create a 3D workflow that allowed it to be used for the building projection wrap.

The C4D 3D model had to be be remade and the UVs redesigned to accommodate the required workflow with the media servers but once that was done in collaboration with the artists the content could be rendered and tested in the media servers. We projection designed and then commissioned modular projection structure housings that were driven by networked media servers, enabling rapid deployment across the site. The content was then mapped onto each surface, blending archival film with procedurally generated visuals. A multi-channel spatial audio system placed the audience inside the cockpit, the control room and the silence of space in turn.

• Creative Workflow Development
• Projection Mapping
• Media Server Programming
• Spatial Audio Design
• Technical Direction