50 TOOLS & TECHNIQUES
NOTRE-DAME SHINES AGAIN Notre-Dame de Paris took centre stage as the iconic landmark celebrated its grand reopening. Broadcast worldwide, the ceremony marking the rebirth of this UNESCO World Heritage site featured stunning projections that illuminated the cathedral’s façade.
The event reached its peak with a captivating performance by French DJ and producer Michael Canitrot, joined by a monumental sound and light show powered by 30 Panasonic projectors and Modulo Pi’s state-of- the-art Modulo Kinetic media servers.
Modulo Kinetic on a video mapping project for the Château de Chantilly (top); Modulo Player warping (above)
an ultra low-latency live mixer and advanced compositing tools with more than 250 real-time effects.” He highlights how the company’s objective was led by simplicity, rather than greedy feature accumulation. “Instead of relying on multiple disconnected systems – a media server, live mixer, dedicated effects engine – we bring these capabilities together in one, fully integrated solution. This allows operators to focus on the creative aspects of the show rather than managing multiple technologies.” THE RENAISSANCE OF THE RACK For years, media server deployments often relied on bulky, centralised racks, which housed substantial processing power. While those systems remain important, increasingly ambitious installations are encouraging a more distributed approach. “There will always be applications where centralised server racks make sense,” comments Sadler, “but we’re definitely seeing adoption of more distributed architectures, particularly as projects become larger and more geographically dispersed.” As Sadler explains, by distributing playback closer to the displays or projectors, you reduce long cable runs, simplify installation and improve the overall system resilience. “If a single playback node experiences an issue, it doesn’t necessarily impact the rest of the deployment – making the system inherently more fault tolerant.” HIVE’s SDM-based architecture reflects that thinking, embedding playback closer to displays through compact Smart Display Modules while using synchronisation tech such as Beesync to maintain system-wide coordination.
by focusing on workflows that make everyday tasks faster while still providing advanced functionality when it’s needed. “Features such as visual layer management, streamlined workflows and automated synchronisation all help operators spend less time configuring systems and more time delivering the actual show.” But equally important to that approach is consistency. “Whether someone is programming a small immersive installation or a multi- server deployment with hundreds of outputs, the workflow should remain familiar and predictable.” Modulo Pi has adopted a similar methodology, integrating multiple production tools into a single platform rather than requiring operators to jump impractically between different systems. “When we launched Modulo Kinetic ten years ago, our vision was already to combine pre-rendered media with real- time and generative content within a single platform,” says Kohn. “Today, with Version 7, that vision has evolved into a comprehensive production environment that combines media server capabilities,
permanent installations now expect the same visual quality and responsiveness associated with live productions.” Rather than building separate product lines for different industries, HIVE believes those distinctions are becoming irrelevant. “Whether it’s a projection-mapped museum, a visitor attraction or a touring show, the underlying requirements around synchronisation, playback performance, colour accuracy and reliability are remarkably similar.” SHIFTING SURFACES Modern productions are routinely made using enormous LED canvases, multiple projection surfaces, live camera systems, interactive elements and ever-more distributed networks. Yet, despite all of this, operators will still expect systems that can remain adept and intuitive under pressure. “High performance shouldn’t come at the expense of usability,” explains Sadler. “As systems become more capable, there’s always a temptation to expose every possible feature to the end user. We take the opposite approach
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