BUDGET: Between 5 crore INR and 9.99 crore INR (More than USD672,000 but less than USD1.35 million)
Project Overview
The Raigad Fort Son-et-Lumière Show is India’s first fully immersive 360° outdoor experience, spread across 250,000 sqm at an altitude of 1,400m. One of the world’s largest installations of its kind, it transforms the 400-year-old Raigad Fort (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) into a living stage. Developed for the Raigad Development Authority, the show uses almost all of the fort’s monuments, some up to 900m away, as integral storytelling elements, placing the the viewer right in the centre of the story.
A seamless blend of technology and creativity, the production combines precisely synchronized architectural lighting, immersive 10.2 surround sound, gobo projections, and powerful sky beam effects. The audio pans smoothly & seamlessly between the speakers, leading the viewer to turn his head and follow the sound. As the viewer orients himself, the sound imaging accurately matches the various structures which light up gradually with the story unfolding.
The experience is elevated by a rich soundtrack featuring an evocative narrator, dramatic voice performances, an original musical score, and realistic sound effects that bring every scene to life. Duration: 45min. Made in 3 languages – Marathi, English and Hindi.
What did the client want to achieve?
The primary objective was to immortalise the story of Raigad Fort and the role it played in Shivaji Maharaj’s life. The client also wanted as many structures as possible to be a part of the show, and the story told in a captivating way, without making it into a boring history lesson.
Though the initial Project Report planned for a standard 180 degrees viewing area, the client wanted to cover a much larger canvas and have more structures illuminated and used as part of the show.
The site chosen presented a remarkable opportunity and challenge. Perched 1,356 metres above sea level, with the final 820 metres rising almost vertically from the surrounding valleys, Raigad is accessible only by ropeway followed by a short trek. The spectator gallery is on a high rocky plateau. From this commanding vantage point, all its structures/monuments are visible, spread across the landscape in different directions.
The client wanted the show to cater to the common people – young and old, students, locals, and outstation tourists. And since Chhatrapati Shivaji was a well-known figure, that the historical facts be properly researched, 100% authentic and unquestionable.
Scope of work your company was involved in
• Complete turnkey project
• Concept & design of the show
• Creative production with historical research, scriptwriting, content design, gobo/optical design, and art direction
• Show System Engineering – show control, lighting design (LD) & electrics, gobo projection, sound design & acoustic engineering, network architecture / dmx topology
• Cable Infrastructure Design – power distribution architecture, load balancing & phase management, signal & data networking, fibre-optic backbone for ArtNet/sACN distribution architecture, opto-isolation & signal buffering and IP-rated containment
• Audio track production with multiple languages & voices, original music score, and sound effects. Sound mastering & 10.2 surround mixing
• Hardware specifications, BOQ & supply
• Installation, testing & commissioning
• System integration & programming of playback timelines of all the different multi-media elements
• Testing & commissioning
• Operation & maintenance for 3 years
What key challenges were faced?
• Authentic historical research – Shivaji Maharaj is a revered figure, and getting the history even slightly wrong could have led to disaster
• Size of the site – 250,000 sqm area meant a vast network of cables and power, signal and audio transmission over vast distances
• Location of the site – 1,356m high accessible only by ropeway or a 1-hour climb. Getting men & material up and down was tough.
• Very dark stone structures – difficult to light up
• Hard basalt rocky terrain – tough to install concealed cabling
• Extreme Weather conditions with high wind pressure, monsoons with heavy rains and lightning leading to transient power surges / EMPs
• Perfect frame-accurate sync of lighting and 10.2 sound without any time delays despite signal runs of upto 1km.
• Tough 360° sound imaging to match each structure. Plus high wind with high noise floor as it was the top of the mountain
• Making the technology INVISIBLE so that the viewer saw only the effect and not the machine which produces it
• Sourcing fully weatherproof equipment capable of handling the heavy rains in Raigad without breakdown
• Extremely strict protocols laid down by Archaeological Survey of India for a UNESCO World Heritage Site
How were those challenges resolved?
Use of extensive high-speed fiber-optic backbone for the ArtNET/DMX signal distribution. Almost 15 km of power, signal & audio cable network
The Ethernet-to-Fiber-to-DMX network was meticulously engineered to maintain flawless synchronization across the entire system. Every component, protocol and signal path was optimized to minimize latency. This precision engineering guaranteed perfectly coordinated lighting cues and seamless integration throughout the show
The immersive 360-degree sound system was meticulously designed and engineered using compact, high-powered 60°×60° dispersion loudspeakers. Their precise placement and tuning enabled accurate sound imaging, seamless panning and fluid movement of audio, enveloping audiences in a rich, lifelike and captivating sonic experience
Over 350 light fixtures with high lumen output, all individually addressable and dynamically programmable. Extensive trials to select the right fixtures
Lightning spike arresters on signal & power lines used to protect the light fixtures
To prevent voltage differences, electrical surges, and data corruption from affecting the system, Galvanic Isolation in the form of Optical DMX Splitters was implemented across the network with a common DMX ground
How has your work helped the client?
The chairman of the Raigad Development Authority, Shri Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati is well educated and well-travelled person. He has seen many shows across the world and is sensitive about respecting the beauty of a monument through sober lighting. He totally loved the show and found it to be much beyond his expectations (which were pretty high).
The show has also perfectly served its defined objective of bringing the immortal story of Raigad Fort and its association with Shivaji Maharaj to life. The show uses almost all the structures at the site innovatively. The scale and size is clear, and for some structures you get a toppish viewpoint.
For the public, this show will educate, entertain, inspire and motivate them. Everyone who has seen the show has praised it, even those who have seen it several times. Delegations from various organisations and schools are sent regularly to witness this show.
For the future, we will be looking after the operations and maintenance of the show for 3 years to ensure it runs perfectly.
What are you most proud of about the project?
We are happy we did justice to the site and the story. We were able to use the full site & even the trees. We feel the show touches the people’s heart and brings the glory of Shivaji to life.
Our biggest challenge was the immersive 360° audiovisual experience, with sound moving seamlessly around the audience to enhance the storytelling. The sound imaging had to perfectly match the structures and lighting for everyone in the audience. Achieving this required an audio system with exceptional fidelity, dynamic range, and reliability, capable of reproducing every nuance of the soundtrack while operating flawlessly in one of the harshest installation environments. With the high wind noise, calibrating, time aligning & balancing the system was not easy.
This installation stands as a testament to meticulous engineering, careful system design, and uncompromising execution. Despite the formidable challenges posed by the site’s terrain and climate, the project has delivered a spectacular, enduring audiovisual experience that captivates audiences night after night.
VIDEO link of the project space:
