a new way to advertise: popular in Europe due to the existing interesting architecture and densely populated city centers
3D projection mapping must be seen instead of explained so be appreciated so the best thing you can do is watch this example first. After viewing it read on for the technology.
Okay, assuming you have now seen it, you may wonder how it works. It´s actually a combination of techniques. The first thing the company does is minutely mapping the existing building. Not only the different surface ares in 2D, but also the depth differences. This is usually done by laser scanning. Subsequently a complete 3D model of the building´s facade is cleaned up in the computer and used as the foundation for a a creative process.
Visual artists in cooperation with the client develop a presentation with a theme and spectacular effects to tell the story. Subsequently this intended effect gets modeled on the 3D surface. Large projectors are used to project the resulting image on the building creating the illusion of a virtual building on the facade.
Thanks to the projection taking into account the precise 3D surface the illusion that the actual building is changing form becomes convincing. With masks and warps the projected image is made to fit perfectly on irregularly shaped screens. When the sound track with effects is tuned precisely to the story line the effect is stunning and becomes an extremely effective tool to get a presentation delivered to a large crowd of locals.
For that reason it´s extremely popular in European cities as the right mix of interesting buildings, set in a densely populated city center is available. Opening a flagship store is the most ´natural´ appliance of the technology hence this example
A few other spectacular videos are:
LG show on a historic building in Sofia
LG Electronics 3D Projection Mapping
Ralp Lauren presents his fashion in London
Ralph Lauren London 4D
to show it can be done on a high rise building as well
LG Optimus Hyper Facade in Berlin – Long Version.flv
Festival style in Brandenburg on a castle:
http://vimeo.com/7146136
Presumably the longest and best of all: LG again now in Berlin
http://youtu.be/dJCy8i9m6xE.
Even more examples can be found with this link:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/s/%23archprojMax%20inurl%3A112352920206354603958
As young artists embrace the technology and integrated it in their performances there is now a school of visual experts and masters of sound who make these projection mappings for artistic purposes. It serves as an excellent tool to integrate electronic music with visuals and is becoming popular on some festivals.