LEADEN DUŠAN 2015: Adam Řehák

Prague Spring / Video Projection

Studio: Marián Karel - Josef Šafařík
Previously completed studios: Fišer, Šulc, Kotas

Project — The most dynamic visual element of the orchestra is the movements of the bows and the conductor's baton. For my project, I decided to digitally capture these movements and create an animation from them. The Optitrack system will be used to capture the movement of the bows. Five artists will be invited to perform the piece Vltava by Bedřich Smetana. The recording of the materials will take place in the computer graphics laboratory of the Czech Technical University at Karlovo náměstí. UV-reactive balls will be placed on the ends of the bows, which will be tracked by 16 cameras. Their exact positions in space will then be tracked. The animation will be projected on the occasion of the opening of the Prague Spring 2015. The projector will be located in the premises of the opposite AAAD.


Evaluation of the Jury — The winning design is quite far from industrial design. The "Bows" captivated the whole jury with their idea. It was something that truly entertained us at that moment. I did not evaluate the execution (which, after all, is not my area – this is a video), but the idea. It is paradoxical that the proposal for video mapping on the wall of the Rudolfinum won at the Department of Industrial Design, but it also reflects the fact that I missed that youthful energy in other proposals, which is the most valuable aspect of school projects.

Although it is intangible design, I was intrigued by the combination of various modern technologies that could be well suited to highlight the Prague Spring. To a certain extent, the original interpretation of capturing the movement of the bows and the subsequent digital transfer to the facade of the building raised a single doubt in me: "Is projecting onto the intricate facade of the Rudolfinum ideal for projection?" I’m not entirely sure about this, but I believe that projecting and visualizing music through light projection on a simple surface would work very well. At the same time, it is not an unattainable method, and I believe that the entire project could be realized.