Robe DigitalSpots Set the Scene for Dancing Water show in Macau

The DigitalSpots were specified by Geoff Benham, City of Dreams' Creative Director. They project onto a surface area measuring 34 metres wide by 8.5 metres tall above the entrance doors to the Theatre of Dreams where the main show is staged. The idea is that this gets everyone - regularly 2000 people per show -  in the mood for the amazing visual extravaganza they are about to witness with the spectacular Dancing Water show by Franco Dragone.

The fixtures were supplied to Hong Kong based installers Ptarmigan Consulting  by Robe's Chinese distributor Leafun (formally known as Leifull). They were spec'd by Benham following a demo from Leafun, after which he recommended Robe as a good, reliable well-priced option. The ability to add live camera feeds into the DTs at a later date was another plus point.

Benham's idea to run a 5 minute pre-show loop starting 45 minutes ahead of the actual show and therefore a flexible projection system in the lobby also maximises the possibilities for the space to be used for special events and functions, complete with custom projected content and branding, etc. if desired. Naturally he also needed the quality and value of this pre-show experience to match that of the show inside.

The DigitalSpots are rigged on their own flown truss about 10 metres off the floor, concealed by a wall with holes cut out for the beams. They are fitted with short throw optics to deal with the 9.2 metre wide angle distance.

The current media being shown, produced by JNCK from Hong Kong, is stored in the heads of the DigitalSpots. They are operated via DMX and a Chamsys MagicQ console, with the video loop timecode triggered from an audio track. A network connection is used for managing and updating the video content. Benham is currently developing new, show specific content with the Dragone creative team, intended to give the arriving audience a better “tease” of the amazing show they are about to see.

The six DigitalSpots are edge-blended together to create the full banner shaped image, and a special version of Robe's Picture Merging function is being utilised. This uses pre-cut content, edited so that each unit holds only the relevant pre-sized portion of the full image which it is projecting. This preserves the native 1024 x 768 pixel resolution of the image, without it needing to be re-scaled, ensuring that there is no distortion to the content.

The pan and tilt is also being used on the fixtures, which tip down onto the floor at predetermined points so the water effects appear to be dripping onto the queues!

"The House of Dancing Water" show has had USD $250 million spent on its creation and production and been 5 years in development.  It is housed in a purpose-built theatre designed with many state-of-the-art features including a stage pool holding a record-breaking 3.7 million gallons of water, equivalent to the volume of 5 Olympic-sized swimming pools!