Christie projectors are helping tell the story of Canada—in miniature. Little Canada is the newest attraction in Toronto and is delighting visitors with a trip across the country, including landmarks, sights and sounds, all under one roof. Carbon Arc Projects, which specializes in the curation of virtual and in-person experiences, selected Christie GS Series 1DLP and Captiva projectors to illuminate landmarks throughout the attraction.
Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Little Canada covers 45,000 square feet of indoor space across two floors and recreates popular locations and landmarks at 1:87 scale--the same size as model railways--with five destinations including Little Niagara, Little Toronto, Little Ottawa and Petit Quebec. Little Canada is a highly detailed miniature world brought to life by 21st century technology, which took over 180,000 hours to build, and an homage to Canada by its creators.
"We received a call in 2018 from Blink Multimedia, the content creator, about a new project that was taking shape," says Sean Hooper, partner, Carbon Arc Projects. "And we knew this was going to be a project unlike any other we'd ever done. We were excited to work on Toronto's biggest little attraction. The first, big destination we worked on was Little Niagara and the Maid of the Mist, then Little Ottawa."
Carbon Arc Projects selected Christie Captiva and DWU630-GS 1DLP laser projectors for the attraction. "We made the recommendation for Christie projectors because we were looking for a professional short throw projector in the low to medium brightness range. Christie was one of the only vendors with a product that met these requirements, with a laser light source, that could be sourced locally," says Hooper. The projectors are integrated with the playback system, which is centrally controlled, and includes power schedules for the projectors as the attraction moves through a 15-minute loop, all while making the Little Niagara Falls look as iconic and life-like as possible--no waterworks whatsoever.
Next up: Little Ottawa. Little Canada's display operates on a 15-minute day-to-night cycle, and upon sunset thousands of tiny lights illuminate, including a simulated fireworks display and a commemorative video projection mimicking the Canada Day celebrations that take place in Ottawa each year. Carbon Arc Projects worked with Blink Multimedia to develop a projection mapping show on Little Ottawa's Parliament Buildings.
The intricacy and details of Little Canada have been wowing guests since it opened in August. "Little Canada is a highly detailed and immersive miniature attraction that offers spectacular scenery, enveloping soundscapes, animated features, and moving cars, trains, and boats," says Little Canada's spokesperson. "Guests have been wowed by the life-like experience and the incredible, bespoke lighting and projections play a special part in bringing the magic of Little Canada to life and giving our visitors the opportunity to experience parts of Canada they might not otherwise be able to."
