Thalys: Ambient

Credits & Description:

Alternative title: Hvman Monvments
CLIENT : THALYS
Client: Laetitia Deville, Pauline Rémond, Barbara Bruynooghe, David Schoffers, Kim Masselin
AGENCY : ROSAPARK
Co-founders : Jean-Patrick Chiquiar, Gilles Fichteberg et Jean-François Sacco
ECD : Gilles Fichteberg & Jean-François Sacco
General director : Delphine Drutel
Group account director : Aurore Cornen
Account manager : Camille Hemet
Account executive : Tristan Blondeau
Copywriter : Nicolas Gadesaude
Art director : Julien Saurin
TV producer : Thomas Laurent
PRODUCTION : Sovage
Producer : Willy Morrencé
Production director : Lorette Delva
Director : Julian Nodolwsky
DOP : Nicolas de St Quentin
Post production : Firm
HOLOGRAM : Orbis
Director : Yvan Touhami
Account manager : Anthony Damario
Published: April 2018
Synopsis:
Brussels is situated at the center of some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations – Paris, London and Amsterdam. With the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, Paris is the number one European destination for tourists. Not far behind, in 3rd place, sits London, with big Ben and the London Eye, and Amsterdam, with its canals and cannabis, comes in 12th. Brussels, which welcomes 3 million visitors a year, doesn’t come close to rivaling the popularity of its neighbors. The past few years’ tragic events haven’t helped, further lowering tourism, and the city has had trouble making a comeback.
But Brussels is worth visiting and it has something the other cities don’t: the warmth and openness of its residents. To pump some life back into the city’s tourism, train company Thalys and its agency Rosapark sought to promote the welcoming atmosphere… by putting its residents on a pedestal.
To do so, Thalys and Rosapark set up a “Holobooth” on the Mont des Arts in the heart of Brussels, a futuristic photo booth that was capable of capturing the 360 likeness of a person and rendering a hologram in only 2 minutes. The holograms were then projected onto a stele, creating a giant, 5-meter high silhouette. Written on the stele was “In Brussels, the real monuments are its people”.
The result was impressive. Not just the technical aspects, but the pride of Brussels’ residents, of being ambassadors for their city. There was an incredible emotion that evening, this symbolism in the city that was more alive than ever,” explained Jean-Francois Sacco, co-founder of Rosapark.
Over 3,000 visitors came to see the nearly 500 holograms created - projections of the city’s residents, each of whom became, for one night, a living monument and a part of Brussels history.