The Making of Bangkok Projection Mapping Competition 2021 (BPMC 2021)
เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 years ago
Bangkok Projection Mapping Competition 2021 (BPMC 2021)
“What’s so special about BPMC 2021 lies in its being the one and only projection mapping competition in Thailand, boasting a gathering of not only veterans well-versed in content creation and projection mapping, but also up-and-coming passionate newbies all in one place.”
Could you please introduce the idea behind the project for Bangkok Design Week 2021?
Bangkok Projection Mapping Competition was conceived by Yimsamer, a gathering of professionals working in the multimedia entertainment industry, so it’s not surprising that the competition embodies Yimsamer’s signature approach — T-Experience (Technology + Experience). In the event, there will be a wide variety of design works combining an extensive range of technologies, with the most notable one being the increasingly globally popular “Projection Mapping,” where projections will be cast upon architectural objects to recontextualize the district through the storytelling developed centering around the theme, making it more valuable. It all started when Yimsamer once had an opportunity to participate in a projection mapping competition abroad, and it was when the studio learned that its fellow studios in the industry won awards that it began to realize that there were no such works in Thailand, despite its having an extensive range of potential locations with architectural objects as well as people interested in this field, both in terms of community promotion and economic promotion. The studio, therefore, volunteered to take part in organizing this kind of event.
Held in conjunction with BKKDW2020, last year’s Bangkok Projection Mapping Competition was, actually, a soft launch event where we invited people in the projection mapping circles to participate in the competition at “House No.1.” This year, thanks to the overwhelmingly positive feedback, we decided to elevate the event to the international level, which gave birth to the full-fledged Bangkok Projection Mapping Competition 2021, which, we dare to say, is the one and only projection mapping competition in Thailand. The theme of BPMC 2021 is “Wish” — honestly, it was designated as this year’s theme because we all hoped that the event would run smoothly despite the turbulent situation. And there will be three honorable guests joining the judging panel: Chanpen “Jib” Kulkaew, Phongphasakorn “Kob” Kultiratham, and Ruangrit “Ton” Santisuk, judging the projections cast upon the East Asiatic Building, Charoenkrung 40, Bangrak (opposite of Oriental Hotel).
Where did you draw your inspiration from?
Our inspiration stems from the current situation, like “If you were to make a wish through the East Asiatic Building, which will be serving as a canvas to cast the projections upon, what would it be?” This project has four main objectives: Firstly, to promote the culture, economy, and tourism of the community by bringing together a more diverse variety of community and provincial stakeholders; Secondly, to demonstrate to society the potentials of the new kind of media given that the technology has permeated all sectors, including general businesses and businesses related to art and design; Thirdly, to encourage international contestants to participate in the competition by disseminating information about the competition in projection mapping and motion graphic content groups — so this year it is guaranteed that there will be international contestants participating the competition; Fourth and lastly, to create a network of regional modern media producers — well, there may already be a network of media producers in the industry out there, but there are far too few of them that engage with the community in a way that drives its businesses. So, we would like to create a network so that all stakeholders in the community work more closely with one another.
Could you please explain your workflow, from choosing the location and selecting materials to installing the finished artwork? What is special about the location and materials? What are the challenges in the installation of the work?
The first challenge is space because just because we wanted to work on some locations doesn’t necessarily mean their owners would want to work with us. So, to get a site, like the East Asiatic Building, we had put lots of effort into creating plans so that the owner would see the benefits and agree on letting us use the location: Firstly, we gathered a list of sites that could meet our needs to give ourselves as many choices as possible; Secondly, we gave priority to Charoenkrung first as it is the main venue for many creative events before narrowing down to those most suitable locations in Charoenkrung as projection mapping is not just all about beautiful sites — it’s about surrounding elements as well, from projection distance to lights directed around the venue; Thirdly, now that we had selected East Asiatic Building as the site we began to work on the theme, brainstorming as to whether there were something that could meet the needs of the country given the situation this year, which, in a way, ensured that each team wouldn’t cause problems or negatively affect the society. Well, actually, there were challenges present in every step of the way, from event management to equipment installation.
Could you please summarize the specialty of this project?
Actually, we, Yimsamer, started off as a content creation studio, designing and creating multimedia materials, before gradually making our way up to where we’re here today. Our ideology has always been to create a network of multimedia content creators, and it was in 2020 that we began to build one so that one day we would pass it onto the next generation of multimedia content creators. We’ve only made just one step towards our goal, enabling us to join hands in collaborative projects with those in the network, which, of course, results in our getting more jobs in a more diverse range of fields, and being able to ensure those working with us will get more jobs in the future. However, for now we want to work on establishing the network first before extending to the national and, hopefully, international levels. We’ve been doing this for two years, from CSR activities where we invited artists to join and student workshops in collaboration with CEA, to the two editions of BPMC. At least, we’ve built this network, which will benefit everyone.
It’s worth mentioning that this year’s competition will be held under the name of Bangkok Projection Mapping Competition 2021, and what’s so special about it lies in its being the one and only projection mapping competition in Thailand, boasting a gathering of not only veterans well-versed in content creation and projection mapping, but also up-and-coming passionate newbies all in one place, which will make evident that not only can projection mapping drive business sectors forward, but it also can create opportunities for people.
What do you expect audiences to take away from experiencing the work?
People in this industry will see the light at the end of the tunnel. We know that just because you win prize money doesn’t necessarily mean that your businesses’ success is guaranteed. However, this competition will, nevertheless, serve as another tool to help further grow your businesses and develop the industry. One thing we expect is that although there may not be many contestants participating in the competition given the current situation, they will work hard to make their works outstanding the most, and that will drive the development of the industry forward.
Remarks: In the event, there will be AR Books for sale. Any visitor who has an AR Book can know the information of each team participating BPMC 2021, and, if interested in their works, contact them right in the event.