Vivid Sydney: Keep on Moving
Client: The Electric Canvas/Sydney Trains
ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTION MAPPING, ART DIRECTION, DESIGN, MOTION, TEMPLATE CREATION
The Electric Canvas was enlisted by Sydney Trains to create a projection on the iconic clock tower at Sydney's Central Railway Station as part of Vivid, Sydney's annual festival of lights, music, and ideas. The brief was to show how Sydney Trains is the heart that keeps Sydney pumping. As the solo arist on this project, I enjoyed the challenge of depicting the concept through three abstract scenes: "The Hub", "Out the Train Window", and "Behind the Scenes".
The first task on this project was to create a pixel-perfect template of the structure from a photograph. The clock tower is over 100 years old, and was designed in an Edwardian Baroque architectural style. There were numerous fine details to consider in the template and mapping process, allowing the final design to complement the ornate structure.
During the design stage, it was important to collaborate with Sydney Trains to understand what makes them tick (the complex network, the train line map, wayfinding, and the pulsing and expansive nature of their network). Other important considerations from an experiential perspective were selecting colors that would reflect Sydney Trains' branding, but also be easy to read and vibrant against the building materials. I focused on purple and vibrant warm red and yellow tones, as these provided contrast and would read well when projected onto the sandstone canvas.
The final piece comprised of three 30-second scenes, which seamlessly looped every 90 seconds for the duration of the event. This was a sprint project, with a turnaround time of around 3 weeks from initial brief to delivery. It was featured in the Vivid Sydney Lights program in 2019.
Tools used: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Newton.
