Panasonic projectors give Moonwalkers lift off at Lightroom

An exhibition space in London that stages artist-led immersive projection shows is deploying 28 Panasonic 3-Chip DLP projectors for a production about the manned Apollo lunar missions of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Moonwalkers – which will run at Lightroom from 6 December to 21 April 2024 – will bring newly remastered images of Apollo to life, alongside interviews with astronauts from NASA’s current manned lunar programme, Artemis. The experience will be narrated by actor Tom Hanks.

Lightroom will utilise 14 Panasonic PT-RQ22K 3-Chip DLP projectors for the space’s walls, with their pixel-quadrupling technology producing 4K+ visuals at 20,000 lumens.

The devices can create immersive effects from challenging angles, without casting shadows, through their full lens shift capabilities, enabled by a 360° installation through any axis and Panasonic’s ultra-short-throw lenses.

The venue has also deployed 14 Panasonic PT-RZ12K 3-Chip DLP projectors that project 12,000 lumens on to the floor to creating the surface of the Moon.

With exhibitions running for more than four months at a time, seven days a week, the RQ22K’s filter-less design and airtight, dust-proof optical system delivers 24/7 continuous projection and 20,000 hours of maintenance-free use, giving Lightroom the confidence that projector uptime will be maximised.

To monitor projection quality, Lightroom uses four Panasonic AW-UE150 and four AW-HE130 PTZ cameras connected to the control room. This enables the team to monitor video playback in forensic analysis and diagnose any technical issues, ensuring exhibitions continue uninterrupted.

Lightroom opened in February with the David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) exhibition, which captured the British artist’s six decades of work, thoughts and creative processes.

Both exhibitions have been spearheaded by 59 Productions, with immersive storytelling and sound to accompany the visuals delivered by disguise and Holoplot respectively.

Lightroom’s chief executive, and producer of The Moonwalkers, Richard Slaney, said: “Lightroom’s mission is to create new kinds of experiences with the world’s greatest creative voices, using ground-breaking technology to tell stories for everyone.

“Tom Hanks is an icon, with unparalleled experience of great cinematic storytelling, and has a true passion and expertise for the history of space exploration. Alongside a world-class international creative team, he’s the perfect person to bring to life the Apollo and Artemis missions as never before, unlocking even more of Lightroom’s potential.”