Spinifex Group lights up Vivid Festival with four projections including Sydney Opera House’s sails
Australian creative and technology company, Spinifex Group, today unveiled their greatly anticipated projection on the Sydney Opera House; the jewel in the crown of the VIVID Sydney Festival.
Themed around the concept of ‘play’, the mesmerising digital projection offers audiences a dynamic visual feast.
An exclusive video showcasing the Lighting the Sails project can be accessed on the company’s YouTube platform after 18:00 hours AEST, 24th May. A behind the scenes video documenting the ‘making of’ is scheduled for release within the next few days.
The work was masterminded by head of creative Richard Lindsay, and evolved from basic drawings on paper to a sophisticated matrix of 2D and 3D animation and liveaction, developed and refined over a 14-week period.
2013 marks the company’s third consecutive year working with VIVID, however this is the first time during the history of the iconic festival that an Australian company has been awarded the honour of projecting onto the Sydney Opera House. Spinifex Group is known for its cutting edge digital creative programs and campaigns, and works both in Australia and overseas – predominantly in Asia, the Middle East and North America.
Lindsay commented on the task of lighting the famous sails of the Sydney Opera House: “The Sydney Opera House is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest projection canvases, and it’s been a real privilege for our creative team to tackle this project on our home turf. From an animation perspective, there were some obvious challenges associated with the geometry and curvature of the iconic facade. We wanted to ensure that what we created translated well from the many and varied viewing angles, which meant ‘painting on the surface’ of the building rather than designing from a single point of view, which typifies most building projections.
“We see this as a show, to move beyond just an art installation with a big sound presence and an evolving journey evoking the audiences thoughts and opinions. As a team, we strive to keep pushing the boundaries of 3D projection mapping; adding interactive elements, projecting on unusual surfaces and incorporating multi-dimensional elements, such as live action.”
In addition to the Sydney Opera House projection, the Spinifex team’s work is strongly in evidence across this year’s VIVID Festival. The company has been engaged to project onto several other buildings, including the Museum of Contemporary Art (in collaboration with Australian artist Gemma Smith), the iconic Sugar Stores facade (in collaboration with Audi) and a one-night-only projection on Customs House on June 1, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the BBC’s Dr. Who.
Some 23 individuals from Spinifex’s Sydney headquarters have been involved in the various VIVID productions, including creative directors, designers, illustrators, animators, matte painters, 3D artists, technical directors, compositors and producers.
Playing a starring role in this year’s VIVID follows on from a period of sustained growth for Spinifex Group. The business has recently expanded its Australian presence with the opening of a new office in Melbourne, and strengthened its foothold on the US East Coast with a new office in Detroit.
The work of Spinifex Group can be seen at VIVID Sydney which runs from 24th May – 10th June.
1 Comment
Great work from Richard and his team. Well done.