Robert Simpson

The Team
AV Integrator: Electrosonic
Pavilion Designer:
 BRC Imagination Arts

At Expo 2010 in Shanghai, which ended in the fall 2010, the United States put its best foot forward with a lavish pavilion that not only showcased the nation’s strengths, but also its creative uses of cutting-edge AV technology. Pavilion designer BRC Imagination Arts brought in Spotlight Award–winning integrator Electrosonic to help realize its vision through giant projection displays and choreographed video and lighting.

The pavilion hosted ongoing video presentations, including recorded remarks from President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and showcased 22 major U.S. companies. But the highlight was an audiovisual experience that highlighted the American spirit. Visitors seated on benches in a theater took in what producers called “The Garden,” a multimedia presentation about a young girl who dreamed of turning a vacant lot into a lush garden with the help of her neighbors. The show emanated from five Panasonic PT-DW10000 projectors and was displayed on five 30-foot-high Harkness projection screens, each in portrait mode and custom-cut into unique shapes. All around the screens were LED light frames that were programmed to change colors to fit mood of the show from moment to moment. In all, the system—a Medialon show controller—issued 833 lighting cues in the eight-minute show.

The show itself featured live-action and computer-generated imagery, as well as so-called 4D effects, including mist and seats that vibrated. Electrosonic handled the multitrack surround-sound system as well as tactile transducers under the seats that issued vibrations at just the right times.