Adiyogi Divya Darshanam (roughly translated “Adiyogi’s Divine Appearance”) is a 14-minute 24-projector show that is mapped on the world’s largest bust sculpture, the 112ft tall Adiyogi.
The show in this consecrated space was the highlight of the 2019, Mahashivratri event at the Isha Yoga Center, southern India and debuted for an audience of 350,000, including the Honorable President of India. The Adiyogi’s Divine Appearance is shown every weekend and on special occasions.
The interpretation was commissioned by the Isha Yoga Center to reach out to visitors and devotees in a visually immersive manner. The team at Axis Three Dee Studios was tasked to create a spellbinding projection mapping on the 112ft massive statue to narrate the timeless tale of Adiyogi.
As there is an immense sanctity to Adiyogi, the content had to be carefully crafted. There was 8,000sq ft of uneven topography to map and a challenging black steel surface. What’s more the projection towers were not allowed to impede movement or obstruct the view of tens of thousands of devotees who visit the Adiyogi everyday.
24 Epson EB-L1755UNL WUXGA (360,000 lumens), laser projectors in two projection towers, arranged in four stacked sets.
Dataton WATCHOUT mapping software running on Dataton WATCHMAX media servers.
Pulz Electronics Ltd, IAM12X4 speakers, SIC 218 subwoofers, DPT Series amplifiers
Mapping surface: A steel surface painted black is not ideal for projection as black absorbs light, reflecting no colour for the human eye. Moreover the surface has a sheen which affected the appearance of the colours. To overcome this, the team devised a unique colour palette and chose the 15,000-lumen Epson projectors. The “real-time colour cancellation” method was devised by creating a primary, secondary and tertiary colour palette used as first, second and third layers. This meant colours stood out vivid and vibrant. All interfering colours of light, reflected off the surface of Adiyogi get cancelled out in real time by the different layers.
Mapping scale: The statue is the largest bust in the world (Guinness World Record). The projection area measured 8,000sq ft. The team deployed 24 projectors to cover the surface.
Everyday access and line of vision: The Adiyogi is visited by thousands of people in the daytime and during the week. To ensure that visitors could enjoy their visit without obstruction from projection towers and setup, two limited-height towers were built at 45° angles to the surface during projection, with the left tower covering the left side of the statue and the right tower the whole right side. The projection team worked out a unique stacking layout of projectors to achieve optimum angle of incidence of light without interference from shadows. The 24 projectors are stacked in a 4×6 configuration.
Owing to the public nature of the site, all trials and tests took place on a seven-ft replica, with just three nights on site to finish demos, and test alignment/installation of projectors.
Respect for location: The Adiyogi statue is a bust of Lord Shiva in meditating posture, with spiritual significance for many visitors. The background narrative is spoken by Sadhguru, the Founder of the Isha Foundation, and Three Dee Studios worked very closely with the client throughout the development of the content.
Adiyogi Divya Darshanam successfully employs state-of-the-art AV technologies to tell the timeless story of how Adiyogi transmitted the ancient science of Yoga. It reaches out to visitors and devotees in an immersive and original manner. The installation is evocative and visually stunning, serving to heighten the spiritual atmosphere for visitors.
The sheer scale of the endeavour is hard to imagine: 350 000 people took part in the premiere and the backdrop, the Adiyogi sculpture, is a towering 112ft. Despite almost impossible challenges due to the size, location and materials, the completed project was delivered on time with just three nights onsite to fine-tune all aspects.
