Swedish creative audiovisual solutions company Informationsteknik is using 44 of Crystal Vision’s ViViD HD-20 long video delays to create the largest permanent video artwork in Europe.
Created by French Colombian visual artist Tania Ruiz Gutiérrez and opened in December 2010, “Elsewhere” is a multi-projection video artwork in the Malmö C Nedre underground station, Sweden.
Spanning 360 linear meters, “Elsewhere” projects 44 video sequences on to the concrete walls which give the impression of windows on a moving train, with the ViViD HD-20 modules used to delay the video so that the appropriate scenery reaches each of the ‘windows’ at the right time.
The video artwork, commissioned by the National Public Art Council of Sweden and Trafikverket, was developed as part of the City Tunnel project which was undertaken to increase capacity on the Scanian network by changing Malmö Central from a terminus to a through station.
“Elsewhere” makes passengers standing on the underground platform feel like they are travelling on a train, with 1300 different video sequences – which were filmed around the world – played out from a controlled computer video database for 16 hours a day. There are 22 five meter long projections on each side of the platform, and this is the first time that video technology has been used to decorate a public place on such a large scale.
The 44 ViViD HD-20 modules are housed in Indigo DT desk top boxes and are connected to 44 720p projectors which are hidden from the public over a technical platform. The HD delay is set to 12 seconds on each ViViD HD-20, with the signal daisy-chained through the delay lines to give the effect of movement.
The ViViD HD-20 variable video delay is a space-saving and easy to use 4 x 10.5 inches module which includes a 4 GB DRAM video store and gives up to 21 seconds of HD delay or 119 seconds in SD, with the adjustments available in seconds, frames, lines and pixels.
Explained Tania Ruiz Gutiérrez: “Even though the product was intended for a different market, ViViD HD-20 suited the needs of this monumental art project perfectly. We wanted the equipment to be simple and reliable, and a perfect technical deployment guarantees that the technique is invisible and therefore the public can focus exclusively on the images.”
Crystal Vision is well known for its video delay expertize, and offers four video delay lines for all applications where system delays needs to be matched, including virtual studios, MPEG encoders and decoders, audio processing, HD radio links, satellite links and profanity delays – and now video artwork.
Based at Whittlesford near Cambridge in the UK, Crystal Vision provides digital keyers, picture storage modules and a full range of digital and analog interface equipment including converters, synchronizers, distribution amplifiers and audio embedders to the professional broadcasting industry worldwide.
