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3-D floor projections planned for Hawks pre-game shows

Credit: Park, Catherine

ATLANTA – Philips Arena is mixing things up when it comes to their greatly anticipated pre-game shows.

To make things a little more exciting for presentations put on the jumbotron, the Hawk’s video production team is now utilizing something that is not normally associated with pre-game visual entertainment – the court floor.

Andre Hickmen, Senior Visual Producer for the Atlanta Hawks, gave us a behind-the-scenes look at how they transform the arena floor into a 3-D spectacle.

“We are basically using a technique called ‘forced perspective’,” said Hickman. “We try to create an immersive experience for our fans. We use it for the open which is what people normally see, but we use it for timeouts, we use it for dances, we use it for skill challenges. We use it as much as possible to create an augmented reality to compliment whatever else is on the court.”

This new perspective is achieved thanks to 8 huge projectors grouped by twos. Each pair casts an image on one quarter of the court. The projectors hang 130 feet above the floor, that’s equivalent to roughly a 12-story building.

“It’s not just the visual design, but it also the sound design, editing, compositing. Shooting with the players, we are looking at a couple of months to make something like that happen,” Hickman said.

More LED screens will be added to continue to develop fans' experience when they come to Philips Arena.

“We’re always integrating new technology, we always trying to find another way to do something, or use something we already have and create a new experience by combining new technologies.”

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