Epson Pro Series Laser Projectors Light up the Columbus Bicentennial Celebration
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – Nov. 18, 2021 – As the Columbus Area Bicentennial Commission looked for ways to celebrate 200 years of legacy and culture in Bartholomew County, Ind., they turned to Blockhouse Studios to create an immersive light projection show that would bring the community together. Blockhouse leveraged seven Epson Pro Series laser projectors to create “200 Years Together: Our Stories Illuminated on Fourth Street,” celebrating the Bicentennial with visuals that captured the history and culture of the last 200 years. A video of the project can be seen here.
“When the Columbus Area Bicentennial Commission came to us with a vision for their illumination event, we knew we could make it special for this unique city,” said Kevin Winkler, owner, Blockhouse Studios. “A lot of details went into the visual art for this store window display to make it unique and offer a historical context, including radios, TVs and clothing that were manufactured in Columbus from each of the individual eras. Because of this, we knew we needed a projection solution that would provide the advanced resolution needed to reproduce every minute detail and even read text in each of the store windows.”
The immersive show highlighted the city and county’s past, present and future through projection on the historic Ulrich Building in downtown Columbus, bringing the community together over the course of a two-day celebration. Blockhouse Studios created an intricate and detailed historical story with special moments, from giant, almost 3D looking images of local figures to a mix of swirling, dancing Cs that are part of the city of Columbus’ brand that appeared to spill out of the building’s windows toward the crowd.
Blockhouse Studios approaches events with its unique background in cinematography and created the detailed eight-minute show by filming content using a green screen. The team has experience in film, documentary, music videos, and stop motion animations, which they apply to projection mapping to create engaging and immersive stories. “We try to create more of a theater-type show on a three-dimensional structure,” continued Winkler. “Additionally, we produce these shows in very high resolution, which requires more projectors than are traditionally used to cover the same amount of space. But the result speaks for itself – it’s an important part of the magic that leaves our audiences questioning how we created it.”
“We were looking for an opportunity to demonstrate the rich history of the Columbus area and connect the community in a safe, unique celebration,” said Tobi Herron, co-chair, Columbus Area Bicentennial. “The creative skills of Blockhouse Studios and the cutting-edge technology they were able to bring to the project were the perfect combination. Their design and technical delivery of the show were a huge hit. They made something our community will be talking about for years to come.”
Blockhouse Studios leveraged seven Epson Pro Series projectors for the creation of the event. Epson Pro Series projectors are designed for virtually any large-venue application, offering innovative advanced 3-chip 3LCD projection technology, interchangeable lenses, extraordinary image quality, and incredible brightness.
“We wanted to make this as accessible as possible, and that meant allowing visitors to get close to the building without casting a shadow – which is normally not the case with projection,” continued Winkler. “We were able to do this by getting creative and angling the projectors from across the street, which is another reason we relied so heavily on the brightness and image quality of the Epson Pro L models.”
“Epson’s laser projectors are designed to allow visual professionals to create memorable events, which is exactly what Blockhouse Studios did for the Columbus community,” said Ramzi Shakra, product manager, Epson America, Inc. “As visual artists find new, exciting ways to leverage projectors, we are always delighted to see how Epson’s technology is used to bring people together for a shared experience.”
For more information on Epson’s large venue projectors, visit www.epson.com/largevenue.
About Blockhouse Studios
Blockhouse Studios pioneers new forms of entertainment that offer the world unique experiences. Whether at a concert, flagship store or a public square, Blockhouse Studios aims to inspire a sense of collective wonder and connection using digital arts. Specializing in boutique multimedia production, they cater to the needs of clients and collaborators internationally. Their state-of-the-art audio and video production facility offers an environment tailored to the needs of audio, video and live event production. Blockhouse Studios provides the tools and resources to effectively turn the most ambitious ideas into reality. For more information, visit www.blockhouse.media/.
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.
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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.
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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.
