PLANETARIUMS
HEAVENS OF COPERNICUS
A 16m domed planetarium is the fi nishing touch to Poland’s Copernicus Science Centre. Sky-Skan’s managing director, Glenn Smith, tells Kathleen Whyman how he and his team designed a cutting-edge system
What was your brief?
The 16m (52ft) domed planetarium, called Heavens of Copernicus, is placed within the science centre’s existing architectural structure. The customer wanted a projec- tion system with as high a resolution as possible, using projectors with high con- trast. The spec also called for a classic star projection instrument with LED illumination and electronic shutters. On a domed screen, the projector
contrast is of little value, but it plays a role when projecting a few dots or lines together with the classic star projector. Any grey background from the video projectors is a distraction to the star projector, but our projectors have a very dark background.
Why did the project appeal to you?
Heavens of Copernicus is the gemstone of the new science centre and a major project for Eastern Europe. The client is very open to new ideas and to creating a contempo- rary facility in which to do new and exciting things. It’s a very exciting project to be a part of. The museum opened in November
The 16m planetarium is housed within an unusual boulder-shaped dome
and recent polls show that 60 per cent of visitors are looking forward to the planetar- ium and think it will be the most exciting part of the museum. The museum’s always full and the line stretches out of the door to the street. It’s exciting to see the public so enthusiastic about a science centre and we’re proud to be involved.
What content will there be?
We’ve provided a dozen shows on vari- ous topics as part of our package. The client has also obtained shows directly from producers including Mirage3D in The Netherlands. These will be combined with in-house programs using the real-time capabilities of our system. Part of our responsibilities was deliv-
ering a sophisticated production suite complete with multiple workstations, fi le server and render farm, as well as a mini projection dome and fi sheye video projec- tor for offl ine production. We’ve given them some training and the operator’s working with other experts to develop their produc- tion skills and program offerings.
THE SUPPLIERS
■ JVC by Videocation, Munich ■ JBL speakers with Crown Amplifi ers and Yamaha Signal Processing
■ HB Lasers, LED Lighting and show control technology by Sky-Skan, Munich
Sky-Skan has installed its new LED Cove EX lighting system at the planetarium
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■ Megastar IIA star projector by Ohira-Tec, Japan ■ Nano-seam dome from Spitz Inc, US ■ HP technologies from Datatronix Consulting, Munich
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital AM 2 2011 ©cybertrek 2011 What work are you doing?
We’re using a high-resolution projection system, quality optical star projector, cin- ematic surround sound, advanced LED lighting and a multi-channel laser system. It will be the fi rst purpose-built 3D stereo planetarium in Europe. With the combi- nation of the 16m screen, the 3D stereo technology and our DigitalSky software, this theatre will represent cutting edge performance. The operators are gearing up to use all of this technology to the full to engage the public in science.
What technology is used?
Our Defi niti 3D System is comprised of 4 JVC DLA_SH7 NLG projectors fi tted with special optics that we designed specifi cally for use on dome screens. Sixteen channels of our own design graphics servers, each running at 2048x1200 pixels, will feed the projectors (four to each one) and our soft- ware brings it all together into a seamless full dome image. The star projector is a Megastar IIA from Ohira-Tec in Japan. This will be the fi rst
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