THE CLIENT

The National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Texas. In October 2023, the cathedral was designated with the prestigious National Shrine designation. The Shrine oversees the second largest Catholic church membership in the United States and the building of the beautiful structure dates back to the late 19th century.


THE CHALLENGE

Each year, more than 50,000 faithful men and women make their pilgrimage to the Shrine Cathedral in downtown Dallas and fill the pews for the Feast of Our Lady Guadalupe. December 12th 2023 was truly special because this was the first feast and festival with the new designation as a National Shrine. Several streets were blocked off for the festivities which included live music, dancing, costumes and food vendors from all over.

The Diocese of Dallas, along with an important advisor (do you want us to mention you?), wanted to create something truly magical for the annual The Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe pilgrimage event. 900lbs has a lot of experience with projection mapping and producing various styles of animation. Bringing the front facade of the Shrine to life through large-scale projected visual storytelling would be truly impactful.


THE EXPERIENCE

Through our Discovery/Plan Phase, the 900lbs Team worked through many pre-production needs in our creative process. Several onsite scouting missions focused on gathering photos, 3D photogrammetry scans, projection tests, measurements, throw distances and various other technical requirements for the six projector set-up.

Through SME interviews, we worked through ideas for the story. Through vector illustration and animation, one of our goals was to focus on an abstract scene from one of the Apparitions. In the 1st Apparition, Juan Diego climbs the hill and witnesses Our Blessed Lady with glimmering light shining down. We created undulating sun beams and overlays to make the visual bright and intense. Other scenes of our story focused on the various elements and details of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Tilma. We also focused on a scene from the 4th Apparition when Juan Diego stands before Bishop Fray Juan de Zumarraga and the Castilian Roses cascade to the floor.

Every element has so much meaning. Mary's rose-tinted, flowery tunic symbolizes the earth while the stars on her turquoise mantle represent the heavens. Our Team jumped at the opportunity to take a high resolution photo of an actual Tilma relic that was blessed by Pope John Paul II.

900lbs was grateful to bring to life the first annual projection mapping event and help the growing audience experience (and feel) life, health and hope.

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"I am very proud of our Team here at 900lbs. Bishop Burns, Jim Keyes, and many other staff members of the Shrine worked together to bring this magical event to life. My wife, Rocio, actually had a part in the original idea for projection mapping. Several weeks after the December 12th pilgramage event, we celebrated our anniversary trip in Mexico City and we scheduled a tour to see the original Tilma at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe next to Tepeyac Hill. It was truly amazing!" - Steve Deitz, CEO, 900lbs


THE RESULTS

Over 50,000 attendees captured countless videos and photos. Many media outlets covered the event and the projection mapping. The reactions and joy that the projection mapping brought to the event has cemented this experience to be an annual creation!

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