Projection mapping makes a splash for FINA

Founded in 1908 and based in Lausanne, Switzerland, FINA (Fédération internationale de natation) is the international federation famous for aquatic sport.

In order to celebrate the opening of the 17th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Müpa organisers turned Buda Castle together with the Danube river and Chain Bridge into a stage for a beautiful light performance. Mid-air screens of water were used to display video mapping and Buda Castle accompanied the show with images fromPanasonic projectors.

The power of PT-RZ31K

In total, 50 Panasonic PT-RZ31K 30,000 lumens projector were installed by a team of 50 people. The team constructed 10 projection stacks using a total of 41 tons of scaffolding.

“Major event organisers need to know that the technology they are installing is fit for purpose”

The SOLID SHINE laser technology helped achieve a bright and immersive picture on the Buda Castle. Thanks to the dual-drive laser optical engine, organisers could rely on the projectors to perform reliably for an event that would be seen by television audiences around the world.

The RZ31K is designed for 20,000 hours maintenance free operation. Another important quality of the RZ31K was the model's efficient cooling system that, at the height of the Hungarian summer, turned out to be irreplaceable.

The power of water

Budapest-based Visualpoweris a visual technology service provider and creator of many spectacular events. For this project, the company was responsible for technical installation design. For support on content creation the company referred to Maxin10sity and Bordos.ArtWorks.

With the ‘The Memory of Water' as a leading theme,the companiesapplied their technical expertise to co-opt the Danube river. Taking full advantage of its powerful waters, the river became a participant in the show. Choreographed jets, sprays, and video mapping onto mid-air water screens dazzled spectators.

Alongside the mighty Danube over 500 live performers and 220 volunteers and sportsmen played a role in the opening ceremony.

The Danube, Buda Castle and the Chain Bridge became a single vast theatre covering a total area of 200,000sqm including a challenging floating set on the river with a size equivalent of three football pitches.

The whole project was separated into four chapters making it the biggest and most complex projection mapping show ever held in Hungary.

Chapter 1: “Water and Life”

The show started with “Water Life” and depicted Hungarian sports and culture. The main element of the performance was water accompanied by sounds and images.

Chapter 2: “Water and Culture”

The “Water and Culture” chapter presented key events from Hungarian history. Having started with the Roman Age, followed by Carpathian basin, renaissance, Hungarian hussars, the show led to the footprint left on European music by Ferenc Liszt.

Chapter 3: “Water and Sport”

The third part of the show, “Water and Sports”, was performed in tribute to Alfred Hajos, a Hungarian who was the world's first ever Swimming Olympic champion. This was followed by visualising 60 other Hungarian athletes, all presented with the Magyar anthem in the background.

Chapter 4

Following the three water show sequences, six aquatic disciplines together with a flag parade of all the participating countries were presented. This further led to official speeches and the opening of the 17th FINA World Championships.

Katarzyna Kassner, Regional Marketing Manager for Panasonic Business, said, “The RZ31K is built for events like this. It has quickly gained significant market share in the very high brightness space and is setting a performance benchmark in terms of brightness, colour accuracy and reliability.

“The installation in Budapest was a great showcase for the power of projection mapping to engage and entertain audiences, something that Panasonic research shows is a major trend in the AV market.

“Panasonic gives them the freedom to concentrate on telling the story rather than worrying about the technology.”

“Major event organisers need to know that the technology they are installing is fit for purpose and won't let them down on the biggest stage in front of millions of TV viewers. Panasonic gives them the freedom to concentrate on telling the story rather than worrying about the technology.”