30.03.2020
Taipei, Taiwan (March 31, 2020)—ViewSonic, a leading global provider of visual solutions, has worked with curator Corbett Wall, widely known in Taiwan as the “Prince of saxophone,” to create Asia’s first 360-degree immersive fulldome festival using ViewSonic’s laser projection technology. Numerous films from around the world, including Through the Eyes of the Tribesman are shown throughout the day in the dome, built for the 2020 MOTUS International Fulldome Festival in Taiwan’s Alishan Township, and boasts a diameter of 10 meters. The 40-minute audiovisual sessions allow visitors to immerse themselves in indigenous community life and experience the beauty of nature as if they were in a real forest.
Corbett Wall, curator and founder of Rebalance Renaissance Company, said that “the purpose of the project is to bring a new source of art into the mountains, rejuvenate city people’s interest in nature, and build a healthy connection between the city and the tribe. With ViewSonic’s advanced laser projection technology, we have been able to overcome the challenges associated with building a large 360-degree audiovisual dome, creating a uniquely immersive experience of the forest that will hopefully attract even more visitors to the Alishan area. At the same time, we hope to help children in local indigenous communities feel greater affinity with the area in which they are growing up, which can serve to encourage indigenous people living in other parts of the country to return to their communities. Hopefully, art can create a completely new outlook for these communities.”
Dean Tsai, Head of Projector BU, ViewSonic, added that “ViewSonic, as a leader in visual solutions, is fully committed to providing comprehensive art technology solutions in line with its mantra of ‘see the difference.’ ViewSonic has worked with artists and creators to achieve breakthroughs in visual presentation. We are delighted to team up with Rebalance Renaissance Company for Asia’s first 360-degree immersive fulldome built with the help of our advanced projection technology. The combination of technology and art has the potential to enrich significantly indigenous communities.”
The large dome was made possible by the seamless integration of five ViewSonic LS860WU laser projectors with short-throw lenses. The newest films of various international projection artists and movie producers are shown in the dome. With the laser projectors offering 5,000 lumens of advanced high brightness, a 300,000:1 contrast ratio, and the ability to highlight even the faintest colors, screenings of Through the Eyes of the Tribesman, for example, make visitors feel as if they are in the movie watching the hunter carrying a knife, rice, and salt and wrestling with the forest and its animals. Furthermore, with next-generation laser light source technology, the LS860WU devices can provide continuous operation, displaying content all 86,400 seconds of the day.
Through the Eyes of the Tribesman was made by internationally renowned digital artist Alejandro Rodríguez (Dogrush), a partner and technical director of the festival, who collaborated with programmer Guillermo Deffis to develop the technology for the 360-degree dome. In addition, together with 17 students of a local elementary school in the Laiji Tribe of the Tsou people, he also created peispak’i ta, the first 360-degree movie in Taiwan made with the help of elementary school students.
ViewSonic’s short-throw laser projection technology has been widely adopted for public art exhibitions, e.g., Sounds and Colors of Hsinchu City at the Hsinchu City Art Gallery and Intertidal Zone of Generations at the Hsinchu 241 Art Gallery, both held in 2019. For more information on ViewSonic’s LS860WU, please visit https://www.viewsonic.com/tw/products/projectors/LS860WU.php.
