LED screen + Tron Dance? No problem, synchronize it with our software! – red and white banners above a video control desk and Tron dancers in glowing LED suits in front of an LED screen

LED Screen Projection

Using rear projection synchronized to the LED Dance performance can be really interesting. We’ve done this in Berlin to show the features of a new product.

The client’s idea was to use 5 dancers to introduce a new version of their vacuum cleaner. I know, it might sound a bit strange – Tron Dance show for the vacuum cleaner? But even vacuum cleaners have their brands. And this Kobold is something like a BMW of vacuum cleaners – it deserves a proper promotion.

This is how the show looked in the end:

Combination of Tron Dance Show and LED Screen Projection – launching new Kobold vacuum cleaner in GermanyVideos play from YouTube or Vimeo, which may store cookies once you press play.

The show starts with our standard Tron Dance mixed performance, where we don’t use rear projection. After the performance, we’ve added two more minutes to present the most important features of the new product. And I think the LED Screen Projection really plays well with the dancers.

Four Tron dancers in glowing green LED suits on a dark stage below a large rear projection of a green light bulb with product feature icons
Picture 1 – The LED Screen Projection and our dancers – woooow 🙂 …

How to synchronize LED Screen Projection with Tron Dance?

What the customer really liked is how fast we could create the last two promotion minutes in LED Strip Studio control software. The video technician has sent us an MTC signal from the video server, so we could play the background projection perfectly synchronized to the dancers. We could stop and play the show from any time we wanted. No surprise, we’ve finished the last two minutes of the show in less than 30 minutes. I don’t think you can do that if you use some DMX console or DMX software to control the LED dance suits.

Show Synchronization panel of LED Strip Studio with the MTC tab open – Midi device, start time and incoming MTC time
Picture 2 – The ability to switch between audio or external time code input is really a life saver for events, where you’ll want to use video with the LED dance.

What I really liked is how quick you can create new shows in our Tron Dance system (LED Strip Studio software). Since I could switch between the audio and Midi MTC synchronization immediately, the client could tell me exactly when the dancer should appear, disappear or change colour. The customer could also see the dancers in their colors immediately on stage for better imagination. And the immediate possibility to play some part of the show along with the background screening – that’s the way it should work.

Tron dancers in unlit LED suits on a stage lit in green, with the kobold logo on the wall behind them and glowing LED steps in front
Picture 3 – You feel like a god when you can send orders to what part of the dancer’s body is visible 🙂 …

What I also like are the technical requirements we have now – practically none. See all the screens required for the director compared to our small Tron Dance laptop. 🙂

Control room full of video monitors and a video control desk – a red circle marks the small laptop with LED Strip Studio in the middle
Picture 4 – Computers, screens, control desks – no, we don’t need that. The tiny laptop in the middle is all we need to do our magic…

Anyway, for the external synchronization, we like to use the TC-5 product. It can receive LTC time code from an external timecode source and convert it to Midi MTC over USB, which you can use in LSS software:

TC-5 timecode display-converter – the front panel with its blue timecode display and the back panel with timecode XLR, MIDI and USB connectors
Picture 5 – TC-5 is fantastic for TV shows, video or laser synchronization.

Generally, the show was a great success. The customer was really satisfied with our performance. I hope the new vacuum cleaner is going to be sold like crazy. And I hope we’ve helped to achieve that.

Five of our dancers fooling around in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin
Picture 6 – Happy dancers after the show

Do you have any questions about how synchronization works? Write us a message and we will answer all your questions!