Sacramento, Calif. USA – 26 January 2016 – Barco, a global
leader in visualization technology and the official projection provider
for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, brings to life several key virtual
reality and art installations at the New Frontier exhibition with its
large venue projectors and presentation switchers. The world’s largest
independent film festival also uses Barco digital cinema projectors in
all 23 of its movie theater venues for official screenings.
For more than 30 years, Sundance Institute and its Sundance Film
Festival (SFF) have served as a springboard for independent filmmakers.
Its New Frontier exhibition showcases innovative installations that
explore the expansion of cinema culture and new forms of storytelling in
today’s rapidly changing media landscape. At this year’s Festival, New
Frontier delivers an engaging exploration of the intersection of art,
film and multimedia technology, relying on Barco projectors and image
processing to deliver visually spectacular experiences.
“Innovation is something that New Frontier and the Sundance Film
Festival continually seek out, with a strong desire to advance, evolve
and always be on the leading edge,” comments Jamie McMurry, Producer and
Designer for Sundance Film festival. “We feel that Barco shares that
desire and is not only a committed partner in the industry, but also a
collaborator in supporting artists and developers in the advancement of
visual storytelling.”
For the third year, SFF organizers are using Barco large venue
projectors in the New Frontier installations and other festival events,
having expanded beyond its growing commitment to Barco digital cinema
projectors. Key benefits of Barco projection technologies include high
brightness and photo-realistic color image presentation, in addition to
an ideal combination of size, weight and power, which facilitates
efficient installation and operation.
Treachery of Sanctuary
Representing a major achievement in the history of the Sundance Film Festival, New Frontier presents the work "Treachery of Sanctuary"
by visionary technology artist Chris Milk. An extremely impressive and
large-scale blended, three-channel video installation, "Treachery of
Sanctuary" utilizes Barco’s HDX-W20 Flex projectors
to deliver the clearest, brightest picture and highest resolution ever
used to display the work. Reliability and durability are also key
factors that ensure smooth operation and consistent picture quality
throughout the duration of the festival.
Exhibits at the Claim Jumper
Festival producers are utilizing Barco F50 projectors in several virtual and augmented reality installations at the Claim Jumper, including The Leviathan Project, Double Conscience, and Inextinguishable Fire. When matched with the EN57 lens,
the F50 can front project from an incredibly short distance, allowing
better use of exhibit space and an ideal viewing experience, reducing
the risk of visitors stepping into the projection beam.
The Holo-Cinema
offers a rare look at the innovations in immersive entertainment being
developed inside ILMxLAB—an advanced media lab and development group
that is a collaboration between Lucasfilm Story Group, Industrial Light
& Magic, and Skywalker Sound. This new scenic design and experience
theater allows participants to step inside iconic story moments, walk
around the performing characters, and explore worlds as they portal
inside a fully immersive media environment.
New Frontier Gateway
New Frontier Gateway features a 150-seat theater for sponsor
presentations, artist clips and panel discussions. Organizers are
utilizing two Barco RLM-W8 projectors with two PDS 3G series presentation switchers to elevate the visualization quality of the presentations.
Enhancing production quality
Barco projectors will also be used for the Award Ceremony and Closing
Night party, elevating the visualization quality at these events to
never-before-seen levels. “One of the biggest reasons we chose the Barco
HDX-W20 projectors was their ability to provide greater contrast, color
and control to prevent the stage lighting from washing out the imagery
on screen,” comments Holden Payne, Technical Director of Exhibition and
Production at Sundance Institute.
“We are thrilled to grow our successful partnership with the Sundance
Film Festival as their leadership continually strives to raise the bar
for creativity and visual innovation with their virtual reality
installations, celebratory events and movie screenings,” comments Scott
Stremple, Vice President Sales for Barco Entertainment.
About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops networked
visualization products for the Entertainment, Enterprise and Healthcare
markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing,
Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and
APAC. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90
countries with 3,300 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 1.051
billion euro in 2014.