With a “Rockin’ Robots” theme, this year the South Florida Fair greeted attendees with a massive robot sand sculpture brought to life through projection mapping. The Electric Dream Machine (EDM) co-founders, Jasper Mosher and Shelby Wilson, used a collection of Epson 3LCD projectors to map color and detail onto the robot sand sculpture that stood 10 feet high, expanded 40 feet long and extended 20 feet wide. EDM also mapped a 20-foot by 40-foot mural that stool behind the sand sculpture. EDM worked with South Florida Fair’s director of brand management Rita De Mier-Lincoln and expo facility manager Alex Rodriguez on the attraction that was active for 15 days and enjoyed by over 400,000 visitors.
Lighting up projects across cities in the U.S., EDM has been collecting and using Epson projectors for several years. With a wide selection of Epson projectors on-hand, Mosher used different shapes, sizes and brightness levels to illuminate the sand sculpture noting, “Epson’s 3-chip 3LCD projection technology has the ability to deliver color with accuracy, saturation and vibrancy. For this project in particular, the versatility Epson offers in its lineup was also huge. While I loved working with sand as a canvas, it was a complicated structure with lots of nooks and crannies and the adaptable projectors allowed me to achieve vibrant projection from every angle needed.”
With design and sound effects by Glennis McClellan and Estevan Padilla of Show Element Lab, the sculpture was carved by Sandtastic and EDM was brought on to illuminate the project. EDM used a lineup of exclusively Epson projectors along with Resolume Software to add life to the sculpture. Using detailed projection mapping techniques, each robot was projected onto from the front, side and around the corners to ensure visitors received a 270-degree walkaround experience. Epson’s versatility and interchangeable lens options allowed for easy installation to get all the right angles. The projected elements synchronized with eight different songs and settings allowing each passerby to enjoy something different — even if attending the fair more than once.
“Aiming for a new, fun theme every year, robots had been something we’ve wanted to do for quite some time. Incorporating the projection-mapped robots on a sand sculpture added an extra layer of excitement for every guest as they entered the fair,” said De Mier-Lincoln. “In previous years we used giant backdrops that resulted in a lot of waste. Switching to sand and Epson projectors not only allowed us to create something spectacular with captivating color and design, but also saved us immensely on costs. We were able to spark the ‘oohs and ahhs’ from guests without wasting material when it’s time to close up shop.”
