10,000 Years in 10 minutes

At this year´s Pro Light & Sound fair in Frankfurt, the German laser specialist from Aalen booked  quite a sensation by presenting a mega-spectacle for the turn of the millennium. Due to the enormous run on the usual hourly show, the presentation frequency had to be doubled. This shows that the technological world market leader once again met the pulse of time with content and style.

Already minutes ahead, a countdown announces the beginning of the show named "Chronology" in large bright letters. Suddenly the spectators start their speedy journey through space and time. Beginning with the caves of Lascaux via Bronze and Megalithic Age, Ancient Egypt, Babylon and China, the spectator finally arrives in the times of Christ, Anno Domini, the starting point of our calendar. We keep passing the Viking Age, knights, revolutions, the time of conquerors and inventors, up to the present. Parallel to the central laser projection, a wheel of time keeps turning on a separate projection surface. The wheel represents the current epoch with symbols and a continuously changing representative of the corresponding time. The story within the story is hosted by a person symbolically reflecting the change of generations with his journey through time, from birth until death, finally passing his knowledge on to the next generation. In addition to various impressive effects, this show captivates with an emotional depth unheard of for laser productions.

Spectacles with world-wide reputation have a long tradition at LOBO. In three top modern production studios, a team of designers creates laser- and multimedia shows for fairs, large-scale events, product presentations and much more, causing a global sensation and being honored with a host of awards over many years. Within only the last four years, LOBO has received 26 awards from the "International Laser Display Association", the global umbrella organization of the show laser industry. Last
year, LOBO even obtained more awards than any other laureate.

LOBO's Creative Director was responsible for the millenium show: "For months, our telephones have not stood still. For the turn of the millenium, many of our clients are planning to purchase their own laser system and some interesting rental jobs also lie ahead of us. Due to this fact we decided quite some time ago to create a custom-made spectacle for our international clientele, not only befitting the topic, but also the requirements of this occasion. The show is laid-out in such a way, that it is possible to adapt it to the very specific requirements of each customer without spending a fortune. Furthermore, the subject matter of the show is structured in a way that it basically can not lose its relevance to the present."

This farsighted attitude was enormously important, as "Chronology" ranks among the most lavish and impressive shows that had ever been seen in the field of show laser. "Chronology" mainly consists of classical cell animations, which means that 4,800 distinct drawings were merged together. Every single picture had to be individually
drawn, digitized and colored. For example the nearly 3 minute long non-stop animation of the time wheel was composed from 1,600 indvidual cells.

The production of this show was a logistical masterpiece and had to be organized similar to a movie production. As there were less than 3 months time left from working out the storyboard up to realizing the show, an international team of German, English and Hungarian cell animators, composers and show designers had been working in three production studios almost non-stop up to the inauguration of the music fair. To ensure the historical integrity of the show, a historian consulted the team during the design process.