The Darkroom Brings New HBO Series Alive in LA

LONDON, ENGLAND, May 14, 2011

London-based motion graphics studio The Darkroom, joined forces with global advertising agency BBDO to promote HBO's new TV series, GAME OF THRONES in the US.

The Darkroom has created a world-first projection, which was shown on a giant 80ft billboard from April 8 - 17 in the Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles.

The projection was designed and produced by The Darkroom's Creative Director Bruce Ferguson, who designed the projection to be exclusive, while staying true to the design elements of the show, such as the gate, shields, and the sword, along with the series strap-line, 'winter is coming'.

This projection included a wall that looked like ice - based on an iconic and crucial location in the series - which came alive with projection mapping and themes from the series to create excitement and anticipation among the target audience.

The projection ran every half hour at night for three minutes on a loop, and stopped many passersby in their tracks.

After being selected by BBDO as 'far and away the best company for the job' Ferguson built the custom projection, incorporating important elements and icons of the Series to bring the vision to reality, turning a Los Angeles spring night into a winter spectacular.

Ferguson said creating something to be projected onto a billboard while incorporating a wall of ice was a new challenge for The Darkroom.

"This is a billboard that comes to life ... or a movie with a final frame that remains on the screen even after the projectors are turned off," he said.

"We're always excited by the opportunity to work with a new concept. That's what keeps it exciting and makes motion graphics such a successful marketing tool. It has to be unique to be eye-catching."

BBDO New York Director of Creative Engineering, Jd Michaels, worked closely with Ferguson on the project. "It was much more complicated than originally imagined, expanding each day; but the smooth planning and careful execution of Darkroom talent made certain that time was not wasted and no opportunity to make the work better was missed."

GAME OF THRONES is based on the bestselling fantasy book series "A Song of Ice and Fire," by George R.R. Martin. The new series launched its ten-episode season on HBO on Sunday, April 17, in America, and April 18 in the UK.

Since its inception in 2003, London-based motion graphics studio, The Darkroom, has been working with the world's leading brands to create content for experiential events. Run by directors, Bruce Ferguson and Emma Wolf, The Darkroom uses high-tech animation, sound and music, and 3-D mapping to create films and multimedia environments that engage audiences.

The Darkroom has been called upon to create seemingly 'impossible' moving images and events for live audiences in cities worldwide. Whether that's creating a dome immersive projection inside an inflatable rugby ball for Tourism NZ, helping Smirnoff celebrate New Year's Eve in July in Caracas, mapping video onto a 180 foot / 60 metre Shangri la Hub Wall at Glastonbury Festival or creating an ice wonderland in Hollywood to launch an HBO fantasy TV series.