International. High temperatures, hot sand, swept landscapes, and some of the driest conditions on Earth are not the most useful and practical outdoor conditions for a projector, let alone eight projectors that are needed to run 12 hours a day, for five days in a row, while still delighting an audience of tens of thousands of people.
But that was the challenge faced by a Los Angeles-based projector housing specialist, Tempest, in Burning Man, an event held in the heart of the Nevada desert.
This difficult environment can be fatal to sensitive electrical equipment. Thus, faced with a series of demanding projection assignment requirements, it was no surprise that this year Bart Kresa of Bart Kresa Diseño (BKD) of Santa Monica, asked Tempest for help for visual content mapping in one of the facilities of the showpiece art festival, Shogyo Mujo.
This tall 30-foot geodesic skull was an impressive multi-faceted, Tyvek-covered sculpture created by artist Josh Harker with visual content designed and produced by BKD. Every night when the sun set, the projectors brought the sculpture to life, with the projection of incredible BKD content onto the skull to create an incredible 3D show.
This nightly video interaction between the sculpture and the participants became a vehicle for experimenting and channeling their visions into the physical world. Animated 360-degree projections on the skull were designed to symbolize in the audience hopes, dreams, imagination and spiritual connection with the universe. The end of each night included animations depicting the synthesis of what was offered on that day, ultimately culminating in a final incineration, reflecting the limits of physics and the great liberation of the spirit.
To bring this stunning art installation to life, four scaffolding towers were built with two high-brightness Christie Roadster DLP WU14K-M digital projectors and three chips, with advanced Mirage 3D technology, located on top of each tower to reproduce images on the skull. Tempest provided eight Blizzard Stretch climate-controlled enclosures for each of these 55-pound projectors. Through its innovative Goldilocks system, these enclosures eliminate overheating and condensation.
Goldilocks keeps the environment around the projector in optimal condition, removes heat when the lamp is on or when the case is heated by the sun, and works 24/7 to prevent the formation of potentially harmful condensation. As a result, the facility is able to withstand extreme heat and protect against sand ingress, dust storm damage, and the unpredictable storm cells that haunt this part of Nevada.
"We chose Tempest because we knew their boxes would be able to withstand the harsh desert conditions. Working with them was a pleasure, we received great technical support and the entire installation and performance demonstrated completely hassle-free," said Bart Kresa.
Blizzard enclosures are designed for digital projectors from 3000 to 15000 ANSI lumens. They are designed to protect digital projectors from dust, sand, salt, oil, water, snow, sleet, smoke and from shock and theft when outdoors.
The Burning Man festival is an annual event, with a thriving culture throughout the year, that attracts tens of thousands of revelers each year. Organizers say that "As simple as it may seem trying to explain what Burning Man is someone who has never been to the event, it's a bit like trying to explain what you see of a particular color to someone who is blind."
