It can be revealed that Digital Projection’s M-Vision projectors were chosen by French projection mapping expert, CS Prod, for an immersive 20-minute projection mapping show – Lumières sur Louis XIII (“Lights on Louis XIII”) that brought to life the history of the French king at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France’s former royal residence.
Lumières sur Louis XIII, which ran from 15 March to 14 April, this year, celebrated the sovereign’s life, promoted the town’s historical heritage and enhanced access to culture for a young audience. Lumières sur Louis XIII attracted 15,000 visitors, including 3,500 school-children in one month.
The show was projected onto the Manège royal, which was built in the 19th century. It was chosen to host the immersive show for because of its upside-down boat hull roof and connections with the king
Digital Projection’s French partner CS Prod was chosen from 20 candidates to undertake the project and deployed the company’s M-Vision laser projectors.
The team installed three E-Vision 15000 ultra-wide lens projectors in the back of the balcony; six M-Vision 23000 laser projectors on each side of the building, projecting on the opposite wall and onto the ceiling; and two M-Vision 27000 at the back of the room with a 50m projection throw. On the balcony, which is central to the show, CS Prod also installed a transparent metallic scrim for hologram effects, courtesy of Showtex.
The immersive show also included a six-minute projection mapping display on the building’s exterior façade each night. This was achieved by installing M-Vision 23000 laser projectors in two side towers, situated 30m away from the façade. Accompanying the Digital Projection laser projectors were eight loudspeakers, four subwoofers and 30 Par Can LED lights.
Christian Salès, artistic director of CS Prod, said: “What strikes you as you enter is the framework of the building and the balcony where the king used to sit. We knew the front wall had to be the most impactful for the public and show true colours and sharp images. And the M-Vision 27000s truly answered our requirements. By installing the video projectors very low on the back of the balcony, the public couldn’t see the setup and was able to focus on the content.”
CS Prod worked closely with Alexandra Zvereva, the curator of the city museum, and Isabelle Cadiergues, head of the city’s cultural development department. The projection mapping expert then studied the life of Louis XIII, including the king’s passion for the arts, music, painting and gardening, and used this as inspiration for the content. Salès explained: “We also used the colours from the era, which we found in existing paintings and books relating to the life of the king.”
Located in the western suburbs of Paris, the city of Saint-Germain-en-Laye has hosted many monarchs throughout its history, serving as their royal residence, but none had as strong a connection to the town as Louis XIII. The little-known king, hidden in the shadow of his father Henry IV and his son Louis XIV (the Sun King), spent most of his time there and chose the town as his permanent residence in 1620.
Today, Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a student town, with almost half of the population (23,000) being students, where access to culture for young people is a major objective.
