news 2023 3 min read
CETECH and disguise bring nostalgia to life for Disney’s Concert of Childhood Memory
During Walt Disney’s 100th anniversary in 2023, multiple festivities happened around the world, including Vietnam’s first Disney concert. Vietnam’s Concert Of Childhood Memory series connects young audiences with classical and orchestral music through exploring the worlds of Harry Potter and Studio Ghibli and now, Disney. To make a memorable show, the team pioneered the use of projection mapping in Vietnam, with the show delivered by CETECH and powered by disguise.
Featuring grand, sweeping performances of iconic Disney songs, themed around the concept ‘Leap of Faith’, the event looked to bring memorable cinematic moments to life. As the first Concert of Childhood Memory to feature live singers, and with over 100 performers onstage over the course of the performance, it was also important that the backdrops that CETECH’s team were working on could match up to the spectacle they surrounded.
Disney had called on CETECH to deliver expansive visuals that would wrap around the stage, displaying stunning scenery and video clips from Disney’s movies. With angled sets that towered above performances and left spaces for performers to move between, projection mapping was needed for its ability to show visuals on every object imaginal.
“As a pioneering company in projection mapping, it was an honour for us to be involved in such a significant project,” says CETECH’s Director, Viet Trong Viet. “Projection mapping had never previously been used for concerts in Vietnam, so we were excited by the opportunity to support this first for our nation.”
A limited timeframe with restrictions
The team had two significant challenges to overcome. First, they were given just one month to design, build and implement their projections for the show, and a single day to rehearse on-set. Second, the concert was to be staged in Vietnam’s National Academy of Music - a historic state-owned venue that had a number of strict restrictions limiting how CETECH could work in the space.
Viet felt prepared for both of these considerations, though. CETECH had chosen to power their production with disguise technology, which would help to simplify the process.
Pre-planning the show in advance
Using the disguise Designer software to design and plan out the entire performance, the team were able to pre-visualise every aspect of the show. Disguise’s projection mapping tolls Omnical and Designer allowed for a digital twin of a venue to be created, ensuring the projections fit perfectly around the angles and contours of the venue. It’s even possible to pre-visualize performances from different angles, to ensure that audiences have the best experience possible, regardless of where they are seated.
Accommodating the historic venue
Projection mapping also enabled the team to have minimal impact on the historic venue with the sets being just light on material backdrops and no heavy or damaging sets. Projection mapping also allows for images to be projected from tight angles with disguise’s warping tools, allowing maximum flexibility for the placement of projection units. This meant that the team were able to work effortlessly around restrictions without compromising their vision.
For a successful and impressive show the presence of the disguise media server solution is indispensable. disguise plays a central role as a control hub in 3D mapping projections, seamlessly coordinating between projectors while also serving as presentation software, enabling the creation of scripted program runs.
Viet Trong Viet, Director, CETECH
The three-night run of the show quickly sold out, and performances were met with rave reviews. Viet puts this down to CETECH’s decision to use disguise tech.
“The projection mapping technology by disguise is no stranger to us and was always considered our number one solution,” Viet says. “Working on a Disney project, I think there is no better fit than disguise because we can have faith that the audience will experience the best possible visuals. Whether they are older and recalling their childhood, or the younger audience members discovering Disney for the first time, we can give them an unmissable show.”
