Remastered Experience
The old Dutch Masters reimagined by the new Dutch Masters
Located at the foot of the iconic Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, REMASTERED is an immersive multimedia experience designed to blur the boundaries of perception and spark curiosity. The show entertains, intrigues, and astounds visitors at literally every turn with 360° of crisp 22k resolution and lush surround sound.
Commissioned by the Digital Art Center, Woodwork’s challenge was to craft an immersive journey through centuries of Dutch art history — within the span of a 35-minute interactive audiovisual spectacle. Armed with the concept and 640m2 of empty space to fill, we went on to build, direct and produce an entertaining immerse experience.
Direction
We used our creative storytelling tools and the latest motion design tech to bring the work of six Dutch masters to life. Taking the essence of the original masters artistic vision, we remixed their art through a modern lens. The outspoken worlds of Bosch, Brueghel, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh and Mondriaan merge into a universe of sensory overload for the viewer to explore.
Clocks - Waiting Room
REMASTERED isn’t just a movie projected on walls, we had to approach this project from the perspective of creating a show that people could experience.
And just like every other show the audience has to gather in order to begin. Instead of just having an empty space we created this ‘waiting room’ with clocks representing the passage of time before the show begins.
The anticipation for the start of the show is built up, culminating in falling clocks crashing down from the walls accompanied by immersive sound.
Jheronimus Bosch
Jheronimus Bosch was the first artist on the list for REMASTERED. Using his work The Garden of Earthly Delights as our inspiration, we remixed it into the creation of mankind by the artist himself.
Bosch is known for his portrayal of life and the fantastical creatures living in his universe. Our challenge was to stay true to these creatures and the vibrancy of his paintings, while amplifying it with modern technology.
We used motion capture to ensure his creatures and of course Bosch himself moved in the exaggerated manner we were aiming for.
Pieter Brueghel
The artist and Dutch Master Pieter Breughel was influenced by the work done by Bosch, some even say that Breughel took it to the next ‘level’.
And just like Brueghel was inspired by Bosch we were inspired by the work of Brueghel himself to create this chapter.
Contrary to the colourful world of Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights we wanted to change the tone visually to keep the audience engaged. Brueghel’s work The Triumph of Death intrigued us and was our source for this following chapter.
This chapter came with its own challenges. Creating a dark realm without making it feel too eerie while staying close to Brueghel’s work.
Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt’s work has a very distinguished look, the way he balanced his lighter and darker tones making his paintings look ‘alive’ at times.
On a first glance one could say that the range of Rembrandt’s colours are limited and are within a certain spectrum. For the more experienced eye it’s known that Rembrandt used a lot of vibrant colours in order to achieve his authentic look.
Remixing work of the Old Masters is a nice opportunity to highlight specific details of work you may would have missed in a regular museum. And with the power of modern technology we could add a new layer of depth to work that we already know.
For this chapter we wanted to show the hidden colour vibrancy in Rembrandt’s work. From an R&D point of view, Rembrandt was also the first chapter we worked on and helped us figuring out the fundamentals of making REMASTERED happen.
Johannes Vermeer
Next up is Johannes Vermeer. Unlike a lot of other artist from the same era who did commission work for the wealthy or important folks Vermeer was the artist who painted the ordinary.
Most of his painting’s are portrayals of daily life in an almost directed manner. In the work of Vermeer we can see his signature compositions, the way he frames his subject with light coming from the left side, as if we look into someones home.
Our creative challenge for this chapter was coming up with a solution to present the work of Vermeer in a way that fits the context of his subjects.
We used the ‘Doll House’ of the Rijksmuseum as a setting to frame Vermeer’s work.
One of the important things to keep in mind was that the journey through the house had to feel like an actual late 16th century dollhouse. So we had to do visual studies in order to make sure that the interior felt authentic.
Peeking through the world of Vermeer.
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh known as postimpressionist with a very icon way of painting.
His use of strong pigments in combination with bold brush strokes resulted in his work being years ahead of time during his life.
We made this chapter a celebration and appreciation of Van Gogh’s pointillism technique. Referring to various details of his work.
The biggest challenge during this chapter was how we wanted to show the technique. We did a lot of R&D to get the simulation right.
The result of this chapter is an abstract shower of Van Gogh’s brushstrokes dancing harmoniously.
Piet Mondriaan
The REMASTERED showstopper has been decided; it is Mondriaan who is going to be the final act of this experience.
Mondriaan’s work is mostly recognised by his geometrical shapes and the use of primary colours. Throughout his artistic career we can see a clear transition from his figurative paintings towards geometrical abstraction, it has been said that Mondriaan was looking to find the ‘essence of composition’. How much information do we need in order to communicate something, how much can we leave out of the image?
We could say that less is more is the philosophy of Mondriaan. So with that in mind we went for a more minimalistic approach. A great opportunity to show our 2D-motion knowledge.
Looking back.
From crafting unexpected storylines to animating sophisticated visual sequences with custom soundscapes composed in-house, we pushed our creative and technical capabilities beyond their limits. Is it a 3D film? A concert? An installation? It’s hard to pin REMASTERED down. Let’s just say it’s a genre-bending sensory experience we hope will thrill, entertain and delight visitors for years to come.
Making off REMASTERED
Group photo of the REMASTERED team
