Projection mapping is a method of painting light onto 3D objects rather than a rectangular screen to give them more life and depth. Create Digital Motion has been covering a lot of recent work, collected under their projection mapping tag. The technique has been taking off like crazy this year thanks to software like the Video projection tools project and patches for vvvv. One of my favorite uses is in the gorgeous film SCINTILLATION created with stop-motion and projection mapping onto orchids.
Back to buildings. I’m digging these because it’s a different kind of augmented reality, one which doesn’t require looking through a video feed. I mentioned previously using decaying cities as canvas; here pictures and information can be superimposed onto large-scale scenery for any number of viewers, and the hardware is becoming increasingly accessible. I’ve seen several light graffiti projects. This performance uses giant arrays of LEDs sequenced and synced with music to turn museum windows into pixels for a light show:
This rendered animation superimposes volumes of digital color onto gray, concrete urban environments (and here’s another).
