Window for dialogue is all set up in Copenhagen. As a matter of fact we finished the installation of the projector, rear projection screen and the box housing the whole thing last month. It is installed at the Central Library in Copenhagen in a window case facing the street a pretty ideal location with lots of pedestrian traffic.
It works well in the late afternoon and at night. Due to the high level of ambient light the installation is broadcasting from Kabul Afghanistan from 4pm to ca midnight local Danish time. (That is 3pm -11pm GMT).
I managed to get a wonderful sponsorship by the leading manufacturer of optical projection screens, the company DNP. Their screen was sent to Kabul for the other side of the “Digital tunnel”. The screen I settled on is a NWA 1850 HC 120″ with a very short required projection distance. The set up is ideal with a projector equipped with a short throw lens with a ratio of 0,8 – 1. I matched the screen with a Optoma projector 785 with changeable optics. However it was a nightmare to find the right projection lens or any high lumens short throw projector for that matter. I thought it would be a breeze and only contacted the suppliers in Singapore the week I was planning to leave. I spend two weeks franticly trying to get the right lens and finally found a great partner in Oscar City one of the largest AV suppliers and service providers in South East Asia. They miraculously managed to dig up a old German lens which really is an adapter which you place in front of the projector. It may not provide an optimal razor sharp image throughout the screen but it lends a kind of analog feel which goes well with an art installation. The whole thing was so rushed in the end and the Boss of the company actually had to meet me in the airpot to hand me the lens in person minutes before the check in closed.
I had to travel via Dubai to get my Visa for Afghanistan. This process would take two days due to the early departures from Dubai to Kabul and the time it would take to get my visa.
When I arrived in Dubai my excess baggage for which I had had to pay dearly to Thai Airways was lost. After traveling for 16 hours filling out forms and seeing airport staff I finally got to a hotel at 3am. Getting the Afghan visa went smoothly although finding the place was a bit difficult. (The Afghan embassy to Dubai is behind the immigration building should anybody need this information).
I managed to pick up a few more IT accessories necessities and was hanging out in the new Dubai mall next to the world talest building the 828 meter Burj Khalifa. The mall has to be the among the very top luxury shopping destinations in the wold. Installed with marble throughout contemporary carpet floors and great shop facades. It beats anything I have seen eaven in Singapore. I am not much of a shopper though the only reason I stayed was because of the fast public Wifi network awailable there. I was broadcasting from a resturant overlooking the amazing robotic fountain in front of Burj Khalifa for a few hours before I had to leave for the airport.
Back in the airport my baggage had arrived and soon I was on my 2am flight to Kabul with KamAir.
Posted on September 29, 2010
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