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Christie Projectors Help Quebec City Celebrate its 400th Anniversary

Overview

• The Image Mill will recount the history of the city with what is believed to be the world’s largest video projection.
• The project, which has been two years in the making at E/T/C and Ex Machina, is Lepage’s four-part vision of Quebec history.
• Each part is devoted to a century from the 17th century-themed Water Highway to today’s telecommunications-fueled Air Highway.

Article

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC – (June 20, 2008) – Christie projectors are playing a key role in festivities marking the 400th anniversary of the city of Quebec, the birthplace of French civilization in North America and a UNESCO World Heritage site.  From June 20 to August 24 Christie will participate in The Image Mill (Le Moulin à Images) – a sound and image spectacular created by Robert Lepage and Ex Machina. The Image Mill will recount the history of the city with what is believed to be the world’s largest video projection.

Each evening at 10pm, E/T/C Paris, a specialist in the creation and implementation of technical solutions for automated image projection, will transform the Port of Quebec’s 81 monumental Bunge company grain elevators on the banks of the Bassin Louise in the Old Port into an immense projection screen – the ultimate in widescreen viewing.  The Image Mill will be visible from many vantage points, including across the St. Lawrence River.

“The Image Mill is a magnificent gift from Robert Lepage to his city - an event that thousands of people will enjoy night after night during this summer. They will discover the history of Quebec City through Lepage’s eyes and famous creativity, which is a real privilege”, says Luci Tremblay, director of communications for the Society of the 400 anniversary.

To accomplish the feat, E/T/C Paris has installed 27 Christie Roadster S+20K DLP® projectors to create a continuous image measuring 657m (2/3 km) long by 33m (108 feet) high.  E/T/C’s Onlyview®, a multimedia control platform, will operate the programming, transmission and broadcasting of more than 400 images, animations and videos in the 40-minute show, as well as handle the synchronization of the soundtrack which will be simulcast on local radio station 88.3  (CKIA-FM) or 100.1.

Patrice Bouqueniaux, E/T/C’s sales and marketing director comments, "E/T/C is proud to participate in such a ground breaking event. Associating the flexibility of Onlyview and the reliability of Christie has certainly helped us to achieve such a great technical feat”.

The project, which has been two years in the making at E/T/C and Ex Machina, is Lepage’s four-part vision of Quebec history.  Each part is devoted to a century from the 17th century-themed Water Highway to today’s telecommunications-fueled Air Highway.  Lepage has said his idea was to make the grain silos transparent, to make the immense structures move with the fluidity of the projected images.

Christie’s made-in-North-America technology is used internationally for major high-profile events.  With 20,000 ANSI lumens and 3-chip DLP technology, the Christie Roadster S+20K is the de facto standard for rental/staging worldwide.  Its high bandwidth supports Picture in Picture, HD 4:4:4 and seamless switching between sources.

E/T/C’s Onlyview software is a revolutionary tool for the easy, dynamic creation of multiscreen video projections with automatic control of edge blending and real time programming. It is used for live events such as rock’n’roll concerts, theater and corporate presentations and for television productions.

About Ex Machina
Founded in 1994, Ex Machina is a multidisciplinary production company directed by Robert Lepage. It aims to provoke crossings: between artists and scientists, between creators from different cultures, between recording and performing arts. The company is presenting its work in Occident and Asia. Ex Machina is based at la Caserne, an artistic and production centre in Quebec City.

About E/T/C
With offices in London and Paris, E/T/C is an international authority in high-power projection both in slide and video formats.  E/T/C’s PIGI® and Onlyview® systems have been used to project onsite at The Asian Games, The Olympics, and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee at Buckingham Palace.

About Christie
Christie, a wholly owned subsidiary of USHIO, Inc., Japan, (JP:6925), is a leader in visual solutions for world-class organizations, offering diverse applications for business, entertainment, and industry. A leading innovator in film projection since 1929 and a pioneer in digital projection systems since 1979, Christie has an established global reputation as a total service provider and the world's single source manufacturer of a variety of display technologies and solutions.  With the acquisition of Vista Controls Systems, Corp., Christie offers the most complete and advanced solutions for cinema, live venues, control rooms, business presentations, training facilities, 3D and Virtual Reality, simulation and education as well as industrial and government environments.  For more information, visit www.christiedigital.com.