Façade of the Grand Master’s Palace 2013

The 2013 projection mapping revolved around Christmas. It displayed different art styles in both 2D and 3D which broke the consistency and the smoothness of the projection here and there.

The story elements relatively simple to understand topped with some random parts in my opinion to prolong the projection, the main story is the processes of children receiving their presents from Santa but then you see a segment from the bible or at the very start the ribbon. It loses its linearity as it doesn’t piece together in an understandable way. I do understand that there are many symbols and elements to promote Malta’s culture and history but they aren’t incorporated in the Christmas theme they went for and thus create a confusing set of animations.

As for the art style in general it is a little weak, referring to the 2D elements mostly in variety not capabilities. Also present in the projection are 3D elements some of which were forced others quite clever.

The projection has a dominant 2D art style throughout, at the get go 3 silhouettes are shown, outlines clear but movement stale. The man faded into nothing which was a little unfinished in my opinion and later the windows close refreshing the scene for something else, a mini transition if you will. Also the particle effects on the light and the lamplighter didn’t match and the start which made it look kind of cheap.

Next the ribbon animation swooped in from all direction. The ribbons themselves moving weren’t all that bad but I kind of expected them to tie themselves into a ribbon rather than just have another particle effect reveal the finished product. The outro effect on the ribbon was a good idea but I still can’t accept that particle effect being shown anywhere else. Side note: The blended flags worked well together showing unity and security in the form of a knot.

Another two 2D shots where Santa’s workshop and Santa on his slay. Both had good designs, especially Santa’s workshop but as the animations went along I started to feel as if they were a little to repetitive, there was a lot going on but there was a lot of the same going in.

All of the 3D elements found in this projection mapping do not contribute to the story but rather an accessory. The crumbling of the wall made absolutely no sense both in story and design, it didn’t break as part of a transitions either as I expected the whole of the wall to fall but only a corner? Why? The snow flake transforming into the Maltese cross was a little over done and the sudden 3D element didn’t prove to be effective. As for the doors opening I loved the animation and dust particles and it smoothly revealed the inner scene without confusing the viewer. The lighting effects throughout the last two scenes was a little off, the colours didn’t seem to blend well and was too clustered for my taste.

There were several transitions were found throughout the projection but only one was visually pleasing. The paper with Maltese patterns folded one atop another, bringing Maltese colours and heritage in the smooth transition between animation segments.

To finalize, the overall projection didn’t have enough consistency to tell a good story, some of the design elements appeared to be forced and some may even be time fillers. There were some creative elements that could have been explored further to create a better overall composition. Side note: the music was synced well and sound effects fit well with the events taken place. You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lk26M0JLag