Barco LED for Crane Dance

  • Barco has announced that it provided the LED screen technology for ‘Crane Dance,’ one of the most spectacular fixed performances ever put together, according to the company. The show, located at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, features the world’s largest pair of animatronics figures dancing on a barge 60 meters (197 feet) out at sea.
  • The challenging conditions of the show, including the rapid movements of the structures and their height, required a totally unique solution. This involved Barco’s FLX-24 LED modules and DX-700 image processing units, resulting in truly astounding visual effects.
  • Resorts World Sentosa is an integrated resort located off the southern coast of Singapore. It was developed by Genting Singapore, the overseas investment arm of Malaysia’s Genting Group, and includes major attractions, namely the region’s first Universal Studios theme park, FestiveWalk, a Casino and four individually themed hotels. Soon the resort will expand with a Marine Life Park (the world’s largest oceanarium), two more hotels and a Maritime Xperiental Museum.
  • On December 25, 2010, the Resort launched a new stunning attraction. ‘Crane Dance’ tells the story of two mechanical birds, whose undying love for each other transforms them into real birds. Not only does the performance excel in the animatronics of the two 10-storey high mechanical birds, it also features a breathtaking audiovisual show. Production designer Jeremy Railton of Entertainment Design contacted Barco to see if it could provide an LED solution that could visualize his challenging creative ideas.
  • “We immediately understood we had to provide a truly unique solution,” said Eddie Tan, general manager, SEA, entertainment & simulation at Barco. “The operating conditions for the LEDs are really tough. The structures are both 24 meters tall and located on a barge 60 meters (197 feet) out at sea. Furthermore, the cranes move on six axes, at a speed of 12 degrees per second, so the solution also had to be flexible and offer the designers all the desired freedom.”
  • Barco´s FLX-24 LED modules and DX-700 image processing units were chosen to do the job. Contrary to traditional LED displays, the 24 mm FLX-24 is a truly freeform product: It can be shaped any which way. Furthermore, this is the world’s only creative LED video pixel system that can run 256 LED video pixels on one string, considerably reducing the amount of necessary cables and distribution boxes.
  • In addition, with this system the control and power supply equipment can be located 70 meters away from the screen, thus giving the structure ample space in terms of height and freedom of movement, and the most system critical parts can be installed centrally away from the moving cranes.

The AVNetwork staff are storytellers focused on the professional audiovisual and technology industry. Their mission is to keep readers up-to-date on the latest AV/IT industry and product news, emerging trends, and inspiring installations.