Alumni Alessio Chinni launches a video mapping initiative during confinement

Every day at 8:00 p.m., the whole country goes out to the balcony or the window to thank the healthcare staff for the great effort they are making these weeks in the fight against COVID-19. Alessio Chinni, alumni of Seeway - LCI Barcelona, wants to pay tribute to these heroes and make the confinement of his neighbours a little more bearable with the video mapping initiative that he explains below:

- Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am Italian and I have been living in Barcelona for 8 years. Despite studying History, I started training in Adobe After Effects and self-taught video mapping. In 2016 I came second in the Girona International Mapping Festival and, at that time, I decided to dedicate myself professionally to this sector. I studied a Master in Motion Graphics Design and the Master in 3D Animation and VFX from Seeway - LCI Barcelona, and since then I have worked in several studios in Barcelona. Currently I am freelance and I am dedicated to motion graphics, 3D and post-production.

- What is the project about? What reactions have you had?

I am lucky to live in front of an empty building where I already had done some experiments with the projector. Now that we are all homebound, I thought it might be a good idea to put something up to thank all the healthcare staff and also entertain the neighbours, since many have been home alone. So every day at 8:00 p.m. I began to project a little of everything on the facade of this building: some video mapping projects, fragments of films or short films, etc.

All the neighbours love the screenings and they brighten their day, many of them have even changed their dinnertime to see them. The initiative has gone viral through social networks (it has already appeared in La Repubblica and in other media) and now people from all over the world participate in it, including other alumni of the School. Basically, we choose a song, we divide it, we share it and, based on a specific reference, each one produces something according to his style. Then I unify all the work and project it.

- What is the periodicity of the projections?

At the beginning it was every day at 8:00 p.m., but for practical and time reasons (I am one of the lucky ones who can telework from home), now I do a screening a week, usually on Fridays at 9:00 p.m. because with the time change at 20:00 is still daylight.

- How do you think design and creativity help people to cope better with this situation?

I think that it is possible to do many things during the time we have to be at home. Thanks to this project I have had the opportunity to meet other professionals in my sector and discover that I have fantastic neighbours.