“Catalonia Looks Up” at MWC 2022

Paco Gramaje and his team designed an immersive dance experience featuring their original “Holovortex” for MWC 2022 in Barcelona.

When the agency responsible for the 2022 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona approached Paco Gramaje Studio, they asked for an immersive show evoking the concept of “new space.” Gramaje shared his team’s previously developed project titled Holovortex. A multisensorial 360 show that the studio designed just before the pandemic, Holovortex was created as part of Gramaje’s long-running Dance Mapping series he’s become known for.

Building on the initial Holovortex blueprint, “Catalonia Looks Up” features a truncated structure made of holographic gauze around which the audience gathers. From there, Gramaje’s team decided to add a dancer who would appear inside the structure suddenly and dramatically when the audience least expected it. They also added an LED wall spanning eleven metres with mirrored glass floors around the perimeter to maximise the immersive quality.

They began the process by creating a 2D animatic to guide dancers, visual artists, and 360 sound designers through a preliminary show. After refining and solidifying their ideas, they used Move AI to capture the final choreography. With four thousand audience members in attendance over four days, “Catalonia Looks Up” was a success and even won an award for best show of the event.

“We had full control of our visual content in 360 degrees. With VPM using Notch, we could create our entire holographic show in less than four weeks.”

Paco Gramaje, Creative Director, Paco Gramaje Studio

Additional press coverage:
BCN Magazine, 20minutos, Mundo Deportivo

Credits
Client: Government of Catalonia
Agency: Iniciatives Events
Production & Design Company: Paco Gramaje Studio
Audiovisual Supplier: Eikonos
Rigging: EIA Rigging
Stand Production: Standecor
Creative Director: Paco Gramaje

Production Team (Paco Gramaje Studio): Daniel Marzo & Charles Satchivi
Notch Designers: Javier Cañal & Joan Nieto (V.P.M)
VFX: Leonardo Bautista, Gabriel Casanova
Motion Capture: Gabriel Lacampre
Immersive 360 Sound: Cristian Marín
Dancers: Dreamcheers
Choreography: Mosa Garcia