NYE Hologauze

For New Year's Eve 2024, Pixel Artworks were commissioned to design and deliver a large-format hologauze installation that would serve as the centrepiece of a premium live event. Hologauze, a near-invisible metallic mesh screen, enabled us to create floating, three-dimensional visual effects in mid-air without headsets or glasses, producing a genuinely magical moment for a live audience at the stroke of midnight. As Creative Technology Director at Pixel Artworks I was the onsite Tech Lead for the production that year.

Hologauze at this scale is unforgiving. The screen material is robust but we were facing extreme winds on the night, the projection angles must be optically precise, and ambient light is the enemy of the illusion. Add the non-negotiable deadline of a live countdown broadcast, a production with no fireworks lighting conditions tests and an audience expecting spectacle, the margin for error was effectively zero. Every element from content brightness to projector placement had to be calculated, tested where possible and backup plans locked in well before the event and as this was a first of its kinds attempt at using a projected hologram during a live broadcast event.

We conducted extensive pre-visualisation and site surveys to lock projection geometry before arriving on site. A custom rigging solution was designed to tension the gauze perfectly across the performance space. High-lumen projectors were positioned at calculated throw distances with content specifically authored for the gauze's unique optical properties, high contrast, minimal spill, and depth cues that exploit the material's transparency. The entire show was sequenced through a centralised show-control system synchronised to the live event timeline.

• Creative Direction Support
• Projection Engineering
• On-site Technical Direction