The Tesla Cyber Rodeo event, held on April 7th 2022, celebrated the opening of the company’s new Texas Gigafactory in Austin. And as you’d expect from Tesla/Musk, the event went all out to impress with innovative and creative elements, including a Barco projection mapping on the new factory.
The Cyber Rodeo was a one-of-a-kind corporate event organized for Elon Musk to present the future Tesla product roadmap, and at the same time, celebrate the opening of the company’s new massive factory in Austin. Tesla had the idea to map the entirety of the exterior north wall of the GigaFactory with projected images produced by digital artist Beeple.
Tesla reached out directly to ATX Event Systems for AV technology. And they in their turn choose the Barco products to support the venture. “ATXES has hundreds of years of experience in live production, and Barco has always been the premium product that we reach for on large-scale projects,” explains Anthony McCoy, Project Manager at ATXES. “The Barco products are always reliable, road-worthy, and pack the punch needed to pull off premium events.”
Reliable workhorses
The sheer size of this project posed significant logistical and creative challenges. The wall measures nearly 700’ long and 80’ tall, a canvas size of 14,280 x 1656 pixels. The ATXES team built 16 scaffolding towers spaced along the north wall, each with 2 Barco UDX-4K40’s.
The event pushed the projectors well beyond a standard set up. The environment outside was dusty, windy, and hot during the day. “But throughout the entire project we never had any issues with a projector; they were reliable workhorses for the duration of tech and show,” says Anthony.
To remotely manage the massive video rig, ATXES utilized the UDX Barco Projector Toolset. “This was essential with a canvas of this magnitude,” adds Jack Byers, lead projectionist at ATXES. “It’s what made the job achievable.”
A gargantuan wow factor
The Barco UDX-4K40s made the remarkable content by Beeple come to life with on-spot brightness and color accuracy, truly transforming the blank factory wall into moving, shifting art that provided the scaled canvas for a gigantic fireworks show. Tesla and Beeple were both very happy with the outcome of the project which made a great presence on the livestream and provided a gargantuan ‘wow factor’ for guests upon arrival!
“We've been itching to work with Tesla and Elon Musk since the announcement that they were coming to our hometown, so big thanks to them, Beeple, and the Barco projectors for helping us build our biggest projection yet,” concludes Anthony.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
