R&A 150th celebration of light

A spectacular 3d animation, projection mapped onto the front of the  Royal and Ancient clubhouse to celebrate the world-famous 150th Open Championship.

The live show took 5,000+ visitors on an incredible journey through a visual celebration of key events. From the very beginning of golf to The 150th Open taking place July 2022.

The brief

Everything has led to this.

The 150th brand, created by strategy consultancy Zag, is built around three key strands – the fan's journey, the player's journey and golf’s journey. We travel through golf’s incredible journey from the very first Championship in 1860 to the present day. 

With creative direction from Design agency Mather & Co, who commissioned nymbl to create the CG for the show, we led on the technical direction, production and delivery of the animation. The content would be projection mapped on the front façade of the iconic Royal and Ancient Clubhouse in St Andrews - the Home of Golf.

Our approach

Projection mapping is a projection technique used to turn objects, such as buildings, into display surfaces for video projection. 

Using 3d scans of the Clubhouse building, we recreated the façade in our 3d software. Using a combination of 3d and vfx tools (Maya, Houdini and Redshift) the building was brought to life and danced! 3d particles and 150th Brand Lines animated in between the narrated sections of the story. 

The R&A Clubhouse is an iconic building with a rich history. With 15+ decades of key events, the treatment was divided into Eras, each capturing iconic golfing moments of players and fans. This meant each era had its own style, feel and mood, helping to keep the audience engaged throughout.

The Challenge

The size of the building with two facades to create content for, required the equivalent of 2x 8K resolution rendered videos (equivalent of rendering 32 HD videos!). Along with the 10 minute duration of the piece, the sheer size of the rendered video led us to approach the project as 24 separate scenes, to be assembled together on delivery.  

Working closely with Double Take, the projection mapping specialists on site, we devised the best process to deliver a 16K resolution, 10+ minute video file.

Delivery

A first class 10 minute 3d animation transporting you through the history of golf over the last 162 years. Supported with an original music score composed by Dom Jones, with Hollywood star Gerard Butler narrating the voiceover throughout. On the night, the live show had opening and closing fireworks, a truly spectacular Celebration of Light.

Watch the film here

Press coverage

Interactive 3D model of the Claret Jug

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