It was on New Year's Eve, the start of New Year's Eve, that the Washington Monument became a large-scale movie screen, and it's part of efforts by Freedom 250.
That's the organization behind the 250th celebration of America's birthday.
And for every night since New Year's Eve, a new demonstration, a new video that depicts an aspect of America's history.
One of the people behind that effort, Kyle Barrett, joining us with DCE Productions.
What was the goal ultimately in portraying these images on the Washington Monument?
unidentified
I think it was just to inspire pride and everyone and to show that regardless of what's going on and what side of the aisle you're on, we should all be proud about our country, about its history, and it's worth celebrating.
So, you know, bring your friends, bring your family, come learn about our history.
And I think you'll take away something that'll inspire you to move forward on the next 250 years.
And if so, give us a sample of some of those themes.
unidentified
So each night, you're going to see the same primary act that runs for about 18 minutes.
And that's a four-act structure where we walk you through the history of the country from its founding through the Industrial Revolution and into modern advancements like our space accomplishments and flight.
And then what you're going to see in between that, that's what's going to change and evolve over the next couple of days.
We call those screensavers.
And they're things like historical paintings that you would see in the Capitol Rotunda that we've brought to life and animated.
There are going to be Fun America 250 graphics.
So we wanted to give people an opportunity as they walked around the National Mall to take photos and come home with an experience that very few people will get because this is the only second time that this has ever been allowed to happen on the Washington Monument.
The technical challenges, can you explain in layman's term how that works and how you're able to do that?
unidentified
Well, you know, if you're watching your TV, we've got a nice landscape.
So we have lots of real estate to show you what we want to show you.
But when you take and you turn that into a tall, thin structure, it really limits how much you can actually show people.
So finding ways to take large rectangle paintings and find the most intimate moments in those and then make sure that those are what's visible can be a challenge.
And then beyond that, trying to find ways through narration and sound design to really make you feel something.
I think that's the glue that really brought this all together.
Who worked on this from the federal government from America 250?
I imagine this is a collaborative effort.
What are some of those forces that brought this together?
unidentified
Yeah, this was a very, very large gathering of people.
And it basically took an act of Congress to get approval and permitting with the National Park Service to actually allow this to happen.
So from the top down, we're talking every federal agency had to be involved and had to be in agreement.
And then all the technical and logistical folks on the ground to get the experience built.
You know, I'm on the content side.
I have such an appreciation for the people that had to sit out in the cold for a week building projectors and running power and generators and command tents for the team on the ground to actually bring these visuals to folks.
He's part of this project that we've been showing you that you can see if you're in Washington, D.C. through January the 5th.
Mr. Barrett, thanks for your time.
unidentified
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
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