When Virtually Meets Reality

Superbien encapsulates a live symphony orchestra with audio responsive projected artworks created in Notch.

‘Virtually Meets Reality’ first aired at the Jardin des Plantes’ giant dome in Paris in April 2020. Created for French software company Dassault Systèmes, the installation explores how virtual worlds can affect human emotions.

Superbien studio lead the Artistic Direction and Video Content. They sought to combine classical music and generative art to create an unforgettable public concert. Superbien produced a unique, sound-reactive universe in Notch that they projection-mapped onto the dome surrounding the performers.

The team made Notch blocks with exposed parameters that enabled them the flexibility they needed when operating the live show in Touch Designer. Using a custom-made timeline and transition manager, they could process the input music into data values that drove the sound-reactive designs. The 50-minute show, conducted by R.Capuçon and his 3D violin made using Dassault Systemes technologies, was seen live by 3000 people and more than 1.5M online viewers.

“Notch can take in a lot of complexity and make it feel simple to use. Its integration with Touch Designer made the design process smoother, testable and robust. It allowed us to create diverse visual universes quickly.”

Nicolas Gazzola, Superbien

Credits
Client – Dassault Systèmes
Artistic Direction – Emma Rouffi / ERA Conseil
Production- Frédéric Sceau / Le Bureau de Prod
Artistic Direction and Video Content – Superbien
Audio Reactive Systems / Real Time – Superbien
Technical Director – Éric de la Bouteillère
Conductor – Pierre Bleuse
Orchestra – Les Siècles

Geodesic Dome – FUGU
Video Technical Support – Mvision
Modulo Pi – Renaud Gindre – Julien Améaume
Show Caller – Muriel Nedeau
Sound Engineer – Denis Fenninger / Lagoona
Lights – Vincent Mongourdain – Camille Palisson
Live Broadcast Technical Support – AMP
Live Broadcast Director
Sophie Rajzman / 25 Images
Venue – Jardin des Plantes