“Resolution was the hardest part: Typically we’re working 1920x1080 full HD.  But the show required three projectors working seamlessly together, each at 1920x1080 - that’s three times the usual HD resolution.  Our render times got pushed for these very large files, and we had to compensate for the overlapping imagery,” Dye explains.

“During the animation process we discovered that the simpler and less complicated the effects, the better they worked,” he notes.  “The silhouette of soldiers floating in front of the mountain felt the most three dimensional.  A simple cube of stone pulled out of the side of the mountain looked real.  The more complicated scenes actually took viewers out of reality.”

Dye’s intense involvement with the project took away some of his own amazement of the spectacular nature of the show over time.  “You know how it is when you see a show a number of times before it opens,” he says.  “But when we finished and I attended a performance of the Lasershow at Stone Mountain it was a really nice feeling to see the crowd cheer at certain parts of the animation.  They seem to love the soldier enhancements of the carving – that gets a big audience reaction.”

Since the new Lasershow Spectacular in Mountainvision debuted in May, Stone Mountain has been attracting bigger audiences than ever for the performances, he reports.  “I understand that viewer comments have been nothing but positive.  As soon as the logo rises out of a hole in the mountain, people realize they’ve come to a whole new show.”

“We were very pleased with the work that AI produced,” says Full Spectrum president, Paul Creasy. “Their team was able to create content to some very exacting specifications, allowing for us to easily incorporate the new CGI animation in with all of the other imaging and effects systems in the show, including laser animation and beams, fireworks and pyrotechnics, flame effects, and audio.  The end result is truly spectacular.”

Dye is pleased that AI was able to participate in the remaking of a local legend.  “The project allowed our entire team to work together and create fantastic imagery,” he says.  “We were able to capture the aesthetics of nature and the dreams of the future in an exciting project that entertains young and old alike.”

At AI, Dye served as the art director on the project, Daniel Wiggins was the animator and Owen Chicizawa and Andy Sapp were the compositors.  Lauren Bleakley and Fernanda Martin produced.

ABOUT ARTISTIC IMAGE: Artistic Image (Atlanta) is a world-class creative resource where a passionate collective of innovative A-list live-action directors, producers, designers, animators, CGI artists, illustrators, editors, compositors, modelers and finishers take each job from concept to fruition as a collaborative team. Dedicated to the advertising arena, this hybrid company takes a design-driven approach to crafting high-end TV commercials, virals and broadcast design in a nimble, open-architecture creative environment that provides seamless workflow and premiere client services. Artistic Image has established itself the go-to creative resource in the region, and built a reputation as a reliable full-service resource for fresh, innovate media content. For additional information please visit: www.artisticimage.com.

Credits:
Product: Projection/Mapping for Stone Mountain Lazarshow in Mountainvision
Client: Stone Mountain /Full Spectrum, LLC

Design, CGI, Animation Company: Artistic Image/Atlanta
   VFX Director/Art Director: Ed Dye
  Animator: Daniel Wiggins
  Compositors: Owen Chicizawa, Andy Sapp
  Producers: Lauren Bleakley, Fernanda Martin
  Equiment: Maya + AfterEffects