Animating historical art with a projection mapping show at Shanghai Concert Hall

Initially built in 1930, the Cadillac Shanghai Concert Hall is a landmark architecture of the evolving Haipai Culture, a unique integration of tradition-rooted Shanghai culture and western Culture. From October 20 to November 11, 2021, Light and Sound Story, a large-scale 3D mapping powered by 20 Barco UDX projectors, unfolded on the Wall of Art at the concert hall’s west side. And once again, a projection show on world-class architecture brightens up the night of Shanghai and refreshes the vision of urban tourism and culture.

The eight-minute show consists of five chapters: Prologue, Echo, Variations, Renascence, and Cadenza. Chinese traditional music, architecture, and light are innovatively blended into a historical scroll painting. Visitors see visuals of Mei Lanfang, the great master of Peking Opera, performing the classics of Chinese opera, Zhao Dan and Zhou Xuan in their iconic movie, Street Angel, witnessing the enlightenment of the Chinese film industry, and dazzling images of violins and musical notes representing the bridge that connects eastern and western music. Under the shinning blue dome and raising curtain unfolds the story of how the Concert Hall was relocated and renovated

The century-old edifice highlights a stunning visual experience

The 3D mapping project, tailored explicitly for Cadillac Shanghai Concert Hall, is designed and delivered by a world-class team. Details of each animation frame perfectly match the physical parameters of the building’s walls, columns, and windows. The grandeur building is integrated into an exquisite light show for audiences of Shanghai, China, and beyond. Such originality and creativity deserve equally excellent equipment. Point Lighting Culture & Communication employed 20 Barco UDX projectors for their high lumen output and color gamut wider than industry standards. In addition, the compact design and stable quality of UDX projectors ensuring smooth operation have won the customer’s trust.

Set free imagination for the stage with visuals

Next to the exterior light show, a musical concert, takes place at the Hall: New Oriental Chinese Music Scene. Twelve Barco UDXs facilitate the storytelling and create an immersive stage performance. Light and shadow are artistically synchronized with music and dance by the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, giving birth to a new form of stage art through leveraging multimedia.

Mountains and Lakes, for example, one of the pieces of the New Oriental Chinese Music Scene concert, has images of the famous painting Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains projected on the stage background and the walls surrounding the audience, enabling them to wander into the painting and closer to the essence of the music. While The Silk Road is on, another piece of the composition, dazzling and complex floral patterns cover the entire stage, sidewalls, and even the curved roof, and change with the music rhythm accordingly.

Thanks to bright color images delivered by Barco UDX projectors, the stage transcends its physical limitation and creates more possibilities to demonstrate the beauty and profundity of Chinese folk music. The light show and stage projection become a perfect combination of classical and modern art, with well-tailored content and advanced Barco projectors. Barco works closely with partners in creating visualization solutions to promote Chinese culture and reshape the historical landscape in the urban culture and tourism sector.