ASIA-PACIFIC – AUSTRALIA, JUNE 4, 2013 – Public excitement was at fever pitch surrounding the entry of cult British TV brand Dr. Who to VIVID2013, Sydney’s annual festival of light, music and ideas, now on it’s 50th run.
The Spinifex Group’s projection for Dr. Who on Customs House was commissioned by BBC Worldwide, with the support of Destination NSW, and saw some of the biggest crowds to date cramming into Circular Quay to secure a prime view of the projection.
The installation begins with an image of the eternity clock, calling fans to Customs House and preparing them for an onslaught of Dr. Who action. The projection shows the famous Doctor travelling through time and space – as usual he rubs shoulders with various creatures, including the Cybermen, Silurians, the Vampires of Venice and the Weeping Angels. The fortuitous Doctor survives, before escaping at the lastpossible moment in his trusty TARDIS.
Spinifex lead designer Jamie Tufrey really wanted to leverage the fantastic characters of Dr. Who within the installation, and capture the epic cinematic grander of Series 7 of the popular program The entertaining six minute long projection includes several different worlds drawn from the rich creative territory of the TV series.
Tufrey commented: “We set out to create the ultimate experience for Dr. Who fans of all ages. The designs are built around a detailed 3D model of Customs House, so we can project onto every nook and cranny of the building. In the scene with the Vampires of Venice, audiences will feel like they are standing in St. Marks Square, as they watch Customs House transform into an opulent Venetian Palace.”
To bring the projection to life, Spinifex use the latest cutting edge techniques including complex particle simulations, hyper realistic 3D Matte paintings – as well as old school, hand drawn animations.
Assuming the Doctor navigated the trusty TARDIS successfully to Circular Quay, we are confidenthe’d agree that the signature installation is every inch as cool as a bow tie.
