Barco at Stone Mountain Laser show Spectacular

Barco is virtually moving mountains in Georgia, together with veteran entertainment company Full Spectrum, animating the world's largest granite face with sophisticated 3D architectural mapping techniques to create a surreal tribute to American history as well as a glimpse of Atlanta's future.

The new and improved show at Georgia's famed Stone Mountain relies on six Barco FLM HD20 projectors to create a "virtual skin" on the 825' tall granite outcropping, which is manipulated in countless creative ways: animating the Civil War character carvings, simulating rocks blasting out of the surface with flowing volcanic lava, and lifting the virtual horses in flight toward the crowd. Fed by three Barco High End Systems' (HES) Axon media servers and driven by an HES Road Hog Full Boar console, the projectors are key factors that enable the creation of the edge-blended 3D video projections that virtually simulate a 5,500" HD resolution TV screen, the company says.

"Thanks to Barco, we've been able to bring 'Mountainvision' to Atlanta, dramatically evolving this well-loved show into the 21st century with incredible special effects," commented Paul Creasy, president of Full Spectrum and main conceptual designer for the show. "The extreme brightness and modularity of Barco's projectors are essential to creating the seamlessly integrated imagery over the mountain's naturally irregular face. Barco's turnkey system -- combining state-of-the-art HD projectors with innovative, content-rich media servers and a versatile lighting console -- ensures that all components work together with a high degree of reliability, a critical requirement for a 'live' show."

"The addition of the Barco projectors in the Stone Mountain Park Lasershow Spectacular brings the mountain to life in a whole new way," said Gerald Rakestraw, vice president and general manager, at Stone Mountain Park. "The projectors have given us the ability to make it appear as if the mountain is crumbling right before your eyes. It truly is something you have to see to believe."

The FLM HD20 is an ultra-bright, durable three-chip DLP projector with full HD picture-in-picture capabilities. It is designed for large venues that require extra brightness to show clear, crisp images, even in a luminous environment. The Axon media server provides more than 1,400 stock media clips and features Collage Generator and Curved Surface Support. The Road Hog Full Boar combines superior lighting control with powerful programming features to enable producers to create, manage, edit, and playback lighting and video projections in large-scale environments.

"We appreciate working with customers that fully leverage the capabilities of our projectors, using them to create uniquely stunning shows that are only limited by their imagination," commented Chris Colpaert, strategic marketing director Pro AV for Barco. "Their artistic ambition is also instrumental in fueling our product innovations as we continually strive to anticipate and satisfy the needs of AV producers."