Applications for projection mapping have so far been mainly limited to artistic installations and enhanced, musically-led performances. Nial Anderson speaks to Pierre-Yves Toulot, the co-founder of French company Cosmo AV, who sees the technology as the dawn of a whole new entertainment industry.
“This is the very beginning of projection mapping,†explains Pierre-Yves Toulot, the director of Cosmo AV.
The Frenchman set up the company 10 years ago with Joseph Cristiani and in recent years his projects have been given pride of place in capital cities around the world.
Toulot foresees a day that projection won’t just be niche area within AV but a thriving industry of its own.
“I’m not really excited about putting on any big shows because we have already done that,†he confessed.
“What we want to do now is to develop the stories behind our shows. I think the level of projection mapping we are working on now is like preparation for what is coming in the future. The impact of what we are working toward could be like the birth of cinema.
“In a few years this could grow into an industry like Hollywood. We know we have to keep improving the theatrics of the shows. At the moment you can show an audience a building crashing down and they say ‘that’s amazing’ but in two years it won’t have the same “wow†effect.â€
Toulot explained that projection mapping should not simply try to emulate cinema.
“We cannot copy cinema because it is not the same; our projects are shown mostly outdoors on an unconventional screen that is very big,†he said. “We need to seek out something new by developing our own methods and story lines.â€
Toulot’s entry into the AV industry came after 10 years working in light design where he put on shows where projection was used for artistic purposes to mix light and sound. After this, he became director of photography for a show mixing projection and light before he opted to go solo in creating his own set up and content.
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