canon neoreal 2012 in the forest

‘fall in pop’ by mint designs for canon neoreal ‘in the forest’ installation at milan design week 2012 image © designboom

the theme of canon neoreal’s presentation at milan design week 2012 focuses on the forests which cover our earth; the trees, wildlife and water that exist within these natural environments and the important role the play in the broader global ecosystem. for the past four year’s, japanese brand canon has been promoting the sophistication of their digital imaging products, expressing the image input and output functions appropriate for state-of-the-art creativity and professional needs through their ‘neoreal’ installations. in this fifth edition entitled ‘in the forest’, the direction has been towards the possibilities of new expressions and high-definition experiences, resulting in a vibrant and lively space.

this year’s participants include architect ryuji nakamura, imaging artist nobuhiro shimura, and fashion designers mint design (hokuto katsui and nao yagi), who have collaborated to create a mysterious forest whose dynamic impulses are revealed to the viewer from one moment to the next, in a constantly changing spectrum of color, image and sound. examining the opposing ideas of the different aspects contained within our natural environment, the three-part installation invites the visitor to go deep into the forest of high-definition digital imaging, made possible by canon.

graphics and color fall down the draping form, giving the sense of a waterfall image © designboom

‘fall in pop’ by mint design is a large organic work composed of 3D screens made from a fabric that has been coated with a glossy finish called glass organdie (made from polyester), in which motifs are projected, filling the space with light and color. the central focus is a sculptural, draping form which extends from above one’s head, down to the floor, meant to give the feeling of waterfalls which bring moisture to forests, as images trickle down the textile, creating a sensory visual space.

using 360° rear-projections of images from inside a conical, three-dimensional screen towards the outside, viewers are given the sensation that the fabric itself is giving off light. the variation in the thickness of the pleats allows for gradations of the graphics to appear on the surface, and this in turn means that visitors can experience various fluctuations in the character of the light.

image © designboom

blue dots animate the large sculptural form image © designboom

photo by daisuke ohki

video © designboom

project info: material: glass organdie construction: taiyo kogyo corporation equipment: projector SX80 markil x 14 WUX10 markll x 4, digital camera EOS 7D sound system: cabasse , speakers iO2, minorca IW and subwoofer santrorin 30i imaging system + visual editing: LUFTZUG corp. sound design: masato hatanaka

‘spring’ by ryuji nakamura photo by daisuke ohki

japanese architect ryuji nakamura is responsible for ‘spring’, a cube-like structure made-up of piano wires which are arranged in a lattice format. images are projected on the floor, articulating the mysterious an tranquil aspect of forests. light softly envelops the sculptural work, almost as if a thickening morning mist is surrounding it, constantly changing, as are the pictures, as one walks around its edge. the piano wires and photographed motifs which are utilized are man-made objects, and one one imagine that they are there to provide contrast with natural ones.

when the light falls on is a free-standing object with a uniform latticework structure, measuring 8m wide, 5m deep, and 2m high. the structure is held together with piano wire measuring 0.3mm in diameter, and with a total length of around 25km. with 80,000 grids, approximately 87,000 intersection points and 253,000 segments, a weight of 14.8kg, a density of 180g/m3 and a porosity of 99.998%.

as the light passes through the latticework, spreading out radially, it falls on the very small surface area of the piano wire, continuously producing graphics as it gradually gets bigger. working on a two-dimensional and three-dimensional level, the structure provides a new kind of visual experience that cannot be fully appreciated with a quick glance, due to its composition of hundreds of thousands of elements. distinct images are projected onto the many flat and uneven surfaces, depicting images and different holograms in three dimensions.

piano strings form a cube-like structure with images moving on the floor photo by daisuke ohki

photo by daisuke ohki

detail of the piano string structure photo by daisuke ohki

video © designboom

project info:

material: piano wire of 0.3 mm diameter dimensions: 8m x 5m x 2m construction: taiyo kogyo corporation equipment: projectors XEED WUX5000 x 2, XWWD WUX4000 X 4, digital camera EOS-1D X, EoS 7D sound system: cabasse, speakers iO2, minorca IW, subwoofer santrorin 30 i imaging system: LUFTZUG corp. sound design: masato hatanaka

‘super nature’ by daisuke ohki and the canon design team photo by daisuke ohki

‘super nature’, presented in the final room of the ‘neoreal’ exhibition gives visitors the feeling that they are actually in nature. conceived by photographer daisuke ohki and the canon design team, high-definition images of natural motifs are displayed on a giant screen, tilted towards visitors, with a mirror reflecting back the projected pictures which range in subject from fog over mountains, the twinkling of a starlit sky, to the intense colors of the forest’s flora and fauna.

using the digital SLR EOS-1D X, the EOS C300 digital cine camera, and the XEED WUX4000 LCOS projector for image input and output, they have created a work that conveys the splendour of natural landscapes with a very powerful sense of actually being there. by projecting super high-definition images onto a 250-inch-wide tilted screen, and then reflecting the screen and those images on a mirror, the exhibition creates a space that gives the visitors new possibilities of visual expression.

project info:

dimensions: 5m x 2m x 4m construction: taiyo kogyo corporation equipment: projectors XEED WUX5000 x 2, XWWD WUX4000 X 4, digital camera EOS-1D X, EOS C300 sound system: cabasse, speakers iO2, subwoofer santrorin 30 i imaging system: LUFTZUG corp. sound design: masato hatanaka

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canon neoreal the equipment that was used to create the images for this exhibition included, among others, the latest digital SLR eos-1d x camera, featuring the sort of advanced performance required on professional shoots, as well as the eos c300 digital cine camera, which boasts the high image quality, exceptional mobility andscalability needed on film and tv sets. to display the images created, we have used the very latest xeed wux5000 LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) projector, among others. neoreal is an advanced, experimental presentation born out of humans’ constant evolution –their creativity – and the canon products which support that. that’s why neoreal itself continues to evolve.

milan design week 2012 (202)