A sound-and-light show featuring eight Digital Projection Titan Laser 33000 4K-UHD projectors is immersing visitors in the story of a national heroine at the historic Jhansi Fort in northern India.
The 30-minute experience uses projection mapping technology to depict the life and death of Lakshmi Bai, the 22-year-old rani (queen) of Jhansi, who died fighting the British East India Company during the Indian Mutiny of 1857–1858.
For the sound-and-light show, system integrator Pan Intellecom created an impressive 270-degrees, 83m-wide projection canvas on the walls of the hilltop Jhansi Fort, which was originally built in the 17th century and saw heavy fighting during the rebellion. Pan Intellecom also created the content for the show, which uses a mix of projection mapping, lasers, LED lights, lighting fixtures and a surround-sound system to bring to life Lakshmi Bai’s courage during the siege of Jhansi Fort.
Avnish Rai, CEO of Jhansi Smart City Limited, explained that the show had to be ready two months ahead of the original schedule in time for a visit by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. He said: “We are extremely happy that the show was commissioned in record time. We hope that the state-of-the-art technologies, including laser projectors, used in the creation of this show will attract not just locals from the city but also attract tourists from around the country and abroad. We would like to congratulate PAN Intellecom for the wonderful job they have done.
“Along with all stakeholders, we worked day and night to achieve it. The outcome was spectacular, with applause coming in from all corners.” The selection of the Digital Projection equipment was based on a “quality- and cost-based” system, explained Pan Intellecom director Harbir Singh, with the Titan Laser projectors offering the best performance at a competitive price point. He said: “The 33,000-lumen Titan Laser 33000 4K-UHD projector was used because of the large canvas and the high brightness requirements. As the audience sits close to the projected surface, 4K-UHD resolution was paramount to give a great viewing experience.”
In addition to the size of the fort, the projectors had to work with its challenging facade, which has been damaged and weathered over the past 400 years. Singh added: “Being a heritage fort, built hundreds of years back, the challenge was to ensure the safety and integrity of the structure and still deliver a show that could mesmerise the audience.”
For the Jhansi Fort installation, three Titan Laser projectors are stacked in the centre and three on the right, with a further two on the left-hand side. Fitted with Digital Projection’s 2.56–4.16:1 zoom lens, the projectors have a long throw distance that made them flexible.
Sankalp Srivastava, AGM of projects for Pan Intellecom, said: “Digital Projection equipment is a ‘perfect match’ for the rest of the AV system, which also includes a Xeon processor, Dataton Watchout software for blending and light recording, a Medialon server as an overall show controller, and a surround sound audio system featuring 12 Dual 12-in speakers and four Dual 15-in subwoofers.”
The Digital Projection team supported Pan Intellecom throughout the project, offering guidance on the projectors, lenses and their positioning on site, as well as during installation and commissioning.
Aman Arora, technical-creative director for the project, said: “As a creative director, it’s like a dream come true to narrate the story of Rani Lakshmi Bai through a 270-degrees architectural projection-mapping show, the first of its kind in the country. Digital Projection’s Titan Laser 33000 4K-UHD projector’s true reproduction of colours made life easier for the content and creative team, who had a huge challenge to deliver uniform colours on a facade with stones that have lost their colour in an uneven fashion over a period of time.”