The Dalai Lama celebrated his 80th birthday in the Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle

On July 6th already, the spiritual Tibetan leader, His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama celebrated his 80th birthday. One week later, on July 13th, 2015, numerous mostly far-travelled followers, celebrated this event with him in the Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle. As always, the Dalai Lama was able again at this visit to touch and move the people with reassuring and encouraging words.

We thank Martin Gottschall, who has entrusted us several times, and in 2015 already for the second time, instructed us with the projection technology, camera and directorial technology. The scenery was transferred by 99% onto the huge screen, measuring 14 x 8 metres, which could either still reinforce the impressive music and dance performances of the artists with various atmospheric scenery impressions, or pragmatically show lyrics to sing along in oversize. The image in image projection, captured with 3 HD cameras (Sony HSC-100), ensured that every single facial movement of the Dalai Lama could still be followed even from the very back rows.

In order to make this happen so smoothly, we had to overcome some problems in the first place. Due to the numerous actors on stage, it had to be, of course, a rear projection. "Place is in the smallest hut" - that is easy to say. The creator of this phrase presumably never had to face the task of accomplishing a 4K large projection of 14 x 8 meters with just a few meters of projector screen distance.

This tricky task could be solved with a four-Softedge, because a 4K projector could not be used for precisely this distance problem. Four Panasonic PT-DZ21K projectors – placed upright by 90° with special lamps made it possible. Thanks to the Ascender 32 it was then still a no-brainer to calculate from a (nearly) 4K signal the four outputs rotated by 90° including Softedge gradations.

However, you know it from the industry: one problem solved, the next would not take long to wait for. It certainly takes its time to get a four-Softedge accurately set and the four projections at the transitions completely congruent. And there was as little time available as there was space. Here real manpower helped.

With the mobile camera direction in which everything is already cabled, we could gain back some time. And within the time frame, which was limited to four hours, everything was ready for a wonderful celebration that will long be remembered.