Dodge Booth at NAIAS 2005
Designers turn to Mbox to spin success.
The Challenge: Synchronize and integrate multiple video elements for a large trade show booth, including video for screens that move at variable speeds — and present content based on their position in the booth.
The Solution: A massive turntable 30 feet in diameter stands in the center of the Dodge booth. The turntable, which houses twolarge video screens, is surrounded by minipavilions that feature individual cars. As the turntable spins, each of its screens shows video related to the car it is facing. It’s a straightforward timing issue — except that the turntable automatically slows down or speeds up depending on the number of people standing on it.
To achieve the control and flexibility needed for this variable timing effect, video content producers BBDO Detroit, lighting designer Howard Werner of Lightswitch and exhibit designer George P. Johnson Company used PRG’s Mbox throughout the booth.
Mbox, PRG’s media server, allowed the team to synchronize what was on each screen based on which part of the booth the screen faced at any given moment. Midi triggers placed in the turntable provided the signal that told Mbox where the turntable was, and Mbox did the rest. The team used a variety of crossfades and short transition pieces that Mbox could draw on, in whole or in part, to ensure smooth transitions.
Mbox also gives designers great control over source material and playback, vastly simplifying the development and integration of video for the production. The same source material was easily used for a variety of screen surfaces and configurations, including vertical ribbons of LEDs, plasma screens and large walls.