very little else. Then in 2005, as part of an ambitious regional regeneration programme, water returned to Estany d’Ivars i Vila-Sana, and as it did so, so did life.
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) feed in the shallow waters now; European Pond Turtles(Emys orbicularis), once near extinct here, thrive; while Marsh Harriers patrol above.
The change has not just brought new life to the lake, but also to Vilasana, as its population of 700 is now close to one of the richest wildlife havens in Catalonia if not the whole of Spain. Where once only grass once grew, visitors now flock.
That has brought prosperity and security but also the realisation that day-trippers, unlike bird-watchers, need more than a moorhen to make their day worthwhile.
Filmed in 4K and the hall’s super-panoramic format, the documentary follows the natural rhythms of the day.
So Vilasana is now home to a brand new state-of-the-art Audiovisual Immersion Centre. The design by communications, branding and corporate architecture consultancy Inside Consultores, takes it cue from from the village’s surrounding landscape. The hall’s ten metre wide, two metre high screen follows anthropometric principles, whilst the seating – arranged around a small, round, dais – ripples out around it. The effect, the architects say, is of a single pebble falling into a pool.
With care having been taken to give the auditorium a natural feel, the production – and the projection – follow suit. To screen a specially commissioned nature documentary, La Pel·lícula de l’Estany, AV installation specialists Creative Rent sourced three 1DLP Christie DHD600-G projectors with 6,200 centre lumens and 1920 x 1080 HD resolution through Christie partner Charmex.
Filmed in 4K and the hall’s super-panoramic format, La Pel·lícula de l’Estany follows the natural rhythms of the day – showing how the lake transforms as dawn rise turns to day and then to nightfall. In contrast to its technical brilliance, this film is understated. It makes full use of time-lapse techniques and camera carrying drones, but not once does it attempt to outdo the natural beauty of the landscape.
The Dynamic Contrast of the DHD600-Gs enhances images by increasing the contrast ratio to 4800:1.
As a result, the projection has to work with it too. The Dynamic Contrast of the DHD600-Gs enhances images by increasing the contrast ratio to 4800:1, the 1-chip DLP technology brings out the best in the lovingly shot wildlife scenes, and the built-in colour matching keeps the images uniform across multiple projectors.
Xavier Romeu, director of Inside Consultores, felt his architects had found a projector that matched the elegance of their vision. “The quality the projectors deliver is fantastic and the image is really clear. We needed projectors that would be up to the challenge of a 4K projection, and that is what we got. There is no other centre in Catalonia with this level of equipment,” he said.