Sample Gates shine with 3-D projection map

Using video projections and fog machines, seniors Matt Starr and Taylor Bryant created a projection mapping show, bringing the Sample Gates alive for Arts Week
Everywhere.

Each projection show was paired with original music by Jacobs School of Music
students.

The shows, performed April 1 and 5, lasted 10 minutes, and the projections included images ranging from a simple outline of the gates to dancing pickles.

Starr and Bryant were approached by IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers and, from there, were inspired to propose a project for AWE.

Both seniors are pursuing a degree in digital art and are interested in video projection mapping.

“We chose the Sample Gates because of the actual geometry,” Starr said. “It’s not your typical building. It’s central, it’s the heart of campus.”

Bryant rendered the Sample Gates in 3-D from scratch. From that template, the seniors created animations.

“We didn’t want it to be like a typical projection mapping,” Bryant said.

Bryant has been teaching himself cinema, skills not taught in the School of Fine Arts, for about five years now.

Because most of their coursework is done on computers, Starr and Bryant said they enjoy projection mapping because it lets their ideas leave the computer screen.

“Matt got me into projection mapping,” Bryant said. “There is a lot of potential for stuff like this, and we wanted to take it to the next level.”

The seniors have been working on the projection show since the beginning of the semester. Both noted the support they received from public and from faculty members helped bring their idea into actuality.

“I’ve never found any other video projection mapping on a college campus, or no record of it,” Starr said. “As of now, we’re saying that this is the only one officially that has been done on a college campus and at least in Indiana, for that matter. We just want people to see what’s possible.”