*What is a multi-image audiovisual?
It is the combination of images and sounds in synchronized form. It works through a computerized slide projection system on one or more screens, which can operate simultaneously with 4 to 12 or more projectors. The multimagen has been derived, from a programmer that includes the time code, the incorporation of other media such as video, laser effects and special illuminations enriching the presentations. Interestingly, this type of multimagen that used other communication resources was called Multimedia. This word has been appropriated to define the handling of various information through computers. At the moment the multimagen that involve other media can be called hybrid programs.
*What applications does this type of multimagen have?
Its application ranges from use in museums and galleries, to large product launches, company presentations, project promotion and training programs, given its great power of communication, the high recall it generates and the ability to handle it. Multimagen is useful where you want to impact and where audiences are large.
*Does multimagen audiovisual have advantages over video?
Yes. The biggest advantage is its language, as it handles photography as its visual medium and this remains, in terms of quality, the best that can be obtained. The projected photography is very friendly. While the image of a video projection at large sizes is annoying to the eye, even unconsciously, because it is electronic. On the other hand, with the multimagen you can appreciate the magic of the static image extracted from a peak moment and that takes movement when it merges with another in terms of slow dissolves. Video is definitely committed to real time, so it works very well to describe industrial processes, or for didactic programs. Of course, in order for it to reach the terms of quality that multimagen can give, high production budgets are needed.
*Are customers aware of these types of differences?
There is a lack of clarity in potential clients to know what to use, so part of our job is to advise them to use the right resource separately or together.
*What are the characteristics of the audiovisual market in Colombia?
The domestic market is not very large and therefore there is a lot of competition among the few producers that exist, most of which are specialized in a single type of product. Particularly, we can be a thermometer of the commercial movement of the country since they look for us for many launches and presentations of projects. To the extent that applications do not yield, it means that there is a brake on industry and construction.
*Do you know experiences from other Latin American countries?
Perhaps the most developed Latin American country in terms of audiovisual communication is Mexico, given the influence of the United States, its economic level and the size of its markets. That was where I met the multimagen and I could see presentations where 100 projectors were used, something that does not occur in our environment. I also know that there are very large companies in Brazil and Argentina.
On the other hand in Europe, the company producing the Hasselblad camera, produced the 6x6 multimagen system and the fact of using this format allows very large projections of the highest quality.
*What did the participation in the Universal Exhibition of Seville in 1992 mean to you, with the multimedia Colombia en Imágenes?
It was very important and positive not only as producers but as Colombians. This program was screened in Exposevilla '92 4,500 times for six months in a row, and in the country it has been disseminated in different events such as the I Festival and International Film Market. T.V. and Video in Colombia, where it won an award as the best sample. A similar but longer program, we took it in '93 to the fair that was held in Taejon, Korea, equivalent to Exposevilla '92 but in the east.
*What prospects does multimagen have for you?
The various applications of multimagen make producers evolve and incorporate new things. For example, in Exposevilla we experienced the projection of slides, referring to pre-Columbian gold, on translucent screens that mixed with a projection in back allowed to see three dimensions. We invented the "Colombian hologram" before which the spectators were very surprised. We are currently making assemblies of permanent projection rooms that give the companies that hire us an image of technology and avant-garde. Much remains to be done and to be investigated. The multimagen will always be challenging our creative capacity.
