M&M’s World
Disney Springs Feature Window
216 square feet. 425,984 pixels. 5 flavors.
A tight budget, an ever-narrowing timeline, and technology never before used at this scale defined the ask for this project. Direct-view LED modules have been used for everything from Times Square billboards to ultra high-end home theater installations, but the unique combination of LED with a printed graphic overlay brought a few particular challenges that were exacerbated by an intended 24 hour duty-cycle.
My first concern was
“Is this even possible?”
(Yes)
“It’s supposed to look like this…”
I modeled the facade of the building in 3D prior to construction being completed based on architectural plans and elevations to determine the scale and configuration of the build.
We’re going to build it like this…
Engineering drawing produced to my specifications based on the initial elevation.
Physically, the build was doable. Next I had to figure out how to power the display, get signal flowing through the whole thing…
…and make sure it had enough punch for it to be effective in mid-day Florida sun.
One controller to rule them all.
Six more to bind them.
Driving signal to 416 separate modules takes some horsepower.
I opted to permanently tether a PC to the display so that we could update content remotely over TeamViewer at any time. The PC was connected directly to a master box, which distributed signal out to six sub-controllers.
Build in progress.
Fitting the fabric graphic.
In your heart of hearts…
I used Lightwave3D to model, animate, and render a single looping fluttering heart, then used that as a custom particle in After Effects to create the clouds of hearts swirling around the “M”.
Out in the wild.
