Billboards Project a New Life By Daniel S. Levin

SAN FRANCISCO - As if out of the futuristic world of the movie Blade Runner, where massive billboards displaying moving images loomed over L.A., a company here is o

The so-called ‘projection billboards’ were set to launch last weekend as part of a joint promotion put together by Gannett Outdoor to publicize its annual Creative Challenge and the Joffrey Ballet’s new production, Billboards, a piece that celebrates the medium as a contemporary art form.
The billboard, developed by Herring Media Group here using existing technology for theatrical productions, uses images from photographs, slides and drawings. These visuals are mixed with laser and other light effects projected onto a conventional billboard painted white to reveal dancers in full likeness and silhouette intermingled with other images like icons from the ’50s.
Alternative installations could also make use of massive arrays of video screens, said Marc Herring, president of Herring Media.
‘What you’re seeing on TV can now be incorporated on a billboard,’ Herring said.
Herring reported he has already drawn up 17 proposals for advertising agencies and companies interested in using the projection billboards.
‘It gives the outdoor medium a whole new life,’ said Sean Robertson, creative director at Gannett’s Berkeley, Calif., office.
The projection billboards will not be immune from some obstacles. A complex mix of local zoning laws will limit how and where they will be able to be used, but Herring said that is a problem he is confident he will be able to overcome.
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