Freedom Fire

On the occasion of the 75th commemoration since the end of World War II, the city of Wageningen entrusted us to create an audiovisual experience, honoring those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Every year since the end of the war in 1945, May 4th and 5th are dedicated to commemorating the heroes and celebrating our freedom. On the night of 4th to 5th of May, the Freedom Fire (Vrijheidsvuur) is lit on the historically important location in front of ‘Hotel de Wereld’, where the capitulation was signed in 1945.

Honoring our heroes

This projection mapping work is designed to spark a light of positivity and to honor those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom 75 years ago. By lighting up the building of ‘Hotel de Wereld’ live on national television on the night of 4th to 5th May 2020, we hope to digitally pass on the ‘flame’ that represents our freedom and the heroes who paid the price for it.

Especially in current circumstances, when many heroes around the world are fighting daily to save lives. Collectively, we will pay homage to the heroes of the past and those of today.

Our first projection mapping event without a live audience

Making an artwork in commemoration of our freedom, in times when our personal freedom is limited, gave us an even bigger drive to create a collective experience regardless of our physical distance.

Due to COVID-19 crisis we were not able to have an experience on location with our audience as usual. Instead, the show was designed considering the camera angles as the whole ceremony was live-streamed on NPO1, national television.

This had an impact on both our creative- and technical production. Right after the social distance regulations in the Netherlands, our team already switched to a full digital workflow. In the blog ‘Dealing with COVID-19 as a creative studio‘ we’re talking about the adjustments we had to make. So not only was this project a first without a live audience, but it was also our first production with the whole team working remotely, in some cases not even in the same country.

VR version of Freedom Fire (Vrijheidsvuur)

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