The Irkutsk Academic Drama Theatre of N.P. Okhlopkov, founded in Irkutsk, Russia, in 1850, has worked with Light Power Design (LPD) to upgrade its technical offering. The updates include an Elation Professional automated lighting rig, an Adaptive Systems audio package from EAW, and a pair of native 4K laser projectors from Digital Projection.
“LPD have used Digital Projection for many years and have always been more than happy with the result,” said Alex Gnatyuk, Digital Projection’s business development manager for Russia and CIS. “When they received a request to upgrade the theatre in Irkutsk, they asked us to bring something new and interesting on the projection technology front; particularly in regards to native 4K resolution.”
Digital Projection noted that although the theatre has a tradition of high technical excellence, the venue’s management decided that the best way to nurture a new generation of theatregoers was to employ more modern means of communication with its audience. When the executive director from LPD, Mikhail Morozov, began batting around ideas involving holograms, Gnatyuk suggested that the Insight Dual Laser was the perfect fit for such an ambitious project.
“We were the only manufacturer of native 4K DLP projectors with acceptable price on the Russian market,” said Gnatyuk. “We provided them with a Titan Laser 37000 WUXGA and an Insight Dual Laser 4K, as well as seven lenses for different purposes.”
The Insight Dual Laser 4K projector can create additional crowd scenes using a braided silver net as a projection surface, though this is not yet a common occurrence at the theatre given how difficult it is to create holographic content.
“The main problem at the launch of the project was to ensure the operability of the entire system with 4K content without quality loss,” said Gnatyuk. “This was done to ensure the audience would be fully immersed in the action taking place on the stage. Delivery difficulties and work restrictions due to COVID-19 also added to the complexity of this project, but other than these small hurdles, the whole process went very smoothly. LPD is a highly qualified company with great specialists on hand and, as always, they were more than happy with the quality of technology provided.”
“We were looking for the best possible solution for the theatre, as well as ensuring the best possible image, light and sound quality,” said LPD’s Morozov. “To do so, we needed to make sure that all of the equipment was reliable, first and foremost. Digital Projection, with their projectors’ built-in IP60 sealed optics and five-year warranty, have become the best choice when creating the most reliable system that will delight theatregoers for many years.”
Images courtesy of Light Power Design
