Ocubo and AV Stumpfl turn Lisbon's history into an immersive spectacle

The creative studio and the multimedia manufacturer have selected AV Stumpfl's Wings Vioso software for the unique screening of 'Lisbon under the stars'.

Built between 1389 and 1423 in Lisbon, the Convento do Carmo is an emblematic structure of the Portuguese capital. Located on a hill overlooking Rossio Square and opposite the Castle of São Jorge, in the Chiado neighborhood, the now Carmo Archaeological Museum is a popular attraction for tourists and residents alike.

With these characteristics, The Portuguese multimedia company Ocubo, with his entire team at the helm, saw the perfect setting to perform their latest and unique immersion show: Lisbon under the stars (Lisbon under stars).

Nuno Maya, cofounder, CEO and artistic director of Ocubo, he explains it: "Our video mapping projects have attracted a lot of attention, both in Portugal and internationally. We have created large-scale shows in Lisbon since 2013, When the City Council saw an opportunity to attract more tourists. With Lisbon Under Stars We took the initiative to organize the show as a cultural and independent project, in support of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, and celebrate the history of the city in innovative ways".

For eight weeks, of the past 3 from May to 30 in Lisbon, Two shows have been performed daily (except Sundays), of 45 minutes of duration, in Portuguese and English, with a unique combination of 360º digital animation, Live action and special effects projections, that have taken viewers back six hundred years to experience Lisbon's history.

Like this, The show introduced spectators to embarking on a sailboat during the Portuguese Discoveries, visiting exotic landscapes to which sailors arrived; to witness the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 and rebuild the city, to 'walk' through the vast site of 1.900 m2 and immerse yourself in the history of this city from different points of view, as it was developed in all its splendor on the walls of Carmo.

"The show has been shaped by the history of the site, but with total autonomy in terms of our artistic approach, expressing the facts as we wished: An artist's dream! -Maya points out about the creative process-. Went 100% Independent; from concept to content creation; from technical configuration to operation; from audience management to communication".

To achieve this creative freedom, Maya points out that a fundamental element "is that we work with ambitious technical solutions that exceed the limits of what is possible, such as Wings software Vioso of AV Stumpfl, which is very reliable".

Thirteen projectors have been used for the show, each with 16.000 Lumens, and nine video servers with AV Stumpfl's Wings Vioso software for mapping, Show control and video outputs for projectors.

To create an enveloping effect, This technology was combined with a system dB Technologies DVA, consisting of six multi-channel audio systems, also controlled by Wings Vioso software.

For Maya, This system "is really an integral element for the entire production: It is our favorite mapping software because of its toolsets, timeline options and show control capabilities. The ability to scale the system to more video slave servers makes it very useful for projects where we have multiple projection locations connected via the local network”.

Wings Vioso media server technology is ideal for media distribution, Multiple Display, deformation, Projection Mapping, Automatic Mixing of Softses, Interaction and performance of show control, that creative companies like Ocubo use for content production in 4K and 8K resolutions.

With Vioso Wings, Professionals can automatically calibrate multiple projectors to blend and smooth content on uneven surfaces, and in this way create incredible shows and control video, audio, Live signal devices and special effects on a single platform.

“Lisbon under the stars It is a very ambitious and unique project on a creative and technical level, since we deliver almost a hundred shows, each of 45 minutes of duration, for a period of two months in a 360º location and 1.900 m2 -recalls Maya-.The perfect result of the video mapping has been possible thanks to the fine-tuning of Wings Vioso's warping tools".

The head of Ocubo points out that "we needed a platform capable of handling large amounts of data files on multiple servers. Thanks to its network capabilities, AV Stumpfl system helped us to transfer, Manage and sync all video files. The complexity of the mapping was also extremely high, But the warp tools and configuration merge options in the software allowed us to do it relatively quickly and easily.".

The show, who have followed more than 30.000 people in person and that has also been broadcast on television, "It has been a success, especially with regard to the content we create and the technical solutions we use. It has been a multidirectional work in which we put heart and soul to capture and transmit the essence of our city and our country, and AV Stumpfl gave us the means to offer something unique", Maya stresses.

Those responsible for Ocubo have indicated that they will continue to work with this system, while the introduction of AV's new Stumpfl media server system, called Pixera, "It has blown our minds and we are looking forward to having a beta version to make an even bigger and better project in 2019".

For the moment, Ocubo will launch another ambitious project during the Lumina Light Festival, which will take place from 21 to the 23 of this September in the Portuguese city of Cascais.