Pushing the boundaries of photography using extraordinary MotionPrint techniques
June 2008 - New Zealand Artist Megan Jenkinson showcases her latest artwork ‘The Light Horizon’ which combines her photography with innovative MotionPrint techniques developed by Outer Aspect Ltd.
Celebrating the Auckland festival of Photography, The Two Rooms is currently exhibiting Megan Jenkinson’s work. This exhibition explores the artist's relationship to the mysteries of the optical phenomena in the Antarctic. Using a MotionPrint (lenticular) lens, the image is laminated on to a finely ridged plastic, the lights flicker and shimmer as the viewer approaches the work, then totally disappear.
Megan has approached Outer Aspect on numerous occasions for motionprint effects for her artwork due to the quality they can produce.
May 2008 - New Zealand company selected by Austria Post for EUFA Euro 2008
When Austria Post were looking for a way to celebrate UEFA Euro 2008, it was no surprise they chose to produce a commemorative stamp featuring the dream goal scored scored against Sweden in 1997 by Andi Herzog. What would be surprising to many was that Austria Post chose New Zealand based Outer Aspect’s world leading MotionStamp technology to produce the stamp.
Outer Aspect was identified and selected by Erich Haas, Director of the Philatelic Department for Austria Post who described Outer Aspect as, “the most advanced technical partner who can offer us MotionStamp technology according to the state of the art”.
MotionStamp technology enables movement to be embedded in the stamp. This means the viewer can experience images with movie like qualities. The Andi Herzog stamp is the most complex and sophisticated stamp Outer Aspect has ever made. It incorporates 3 seconds of video footage, the highest ever put within a MotionStamp.
Jonathan Moon, Outer Aspects Company Director stated “preparation for these stamps required a large amount of video editing which is entirely new for the philatelic community. The unique video editing technique incorporates a special picture within picture effect”.
The stamp incorporates other firsts for MotionStamp technology. It is the largest MotionStamp ever produced measuring 6.5cm by 4.7cm and with a nominal value of 5.45 Euro it is the highest face value stamp ever produced.
Outer Aspect also produced an exclusive picture postcard using their own MotionPrint technology to match the special-issue stamp. This postcard also features the record-breaking international player.
Andi Herzog said after the stamp launch " I am very proud to have scored one of the most important goals in Austrian football, and that it has been reproduced on this wonderful initiative stamp by Austria Post".
New Zealand imaging company, Outer Aspect, used pioneering MotionPrint imaging technology to produce a commemorative mini-sheet stamp, celebrating Year of the Surf Lifesaver in Australia. The innovative technology, which effectively allows images to be 'played back' to the human eye as the viewing angle changes, enabled Outer Aspect to depict lifesavers in an inflatable rescue boat actively mounting a wave over the top of a rolling sea background.
The mini-sheet has won a gold medal in the security printing section of this year's Pride In Print Awards.
Outer Aspect's marketing executive, Sharmila Patel says close liaison with Australia Post and its designers was required to ensure the correct movements, wave sequences and overall look were achieved. "The video footage provided was converted into a series of small clips and output onto specially-formatted lithographic plates then printed onto the reverse side of clear optical plastic lens.
"A specialised coating was then put on the back to make it reflective rather than a translucent image. This was followed by the application of a specialised adhesive produced especially for the philatelic market. The work was finished by adding unique security features that make a bona fide stamp and die cutting to enable the stamp to be removed from the sheetlet."
Despite Outer Aspect having established itself as the world-leader in this technology throughout the philatelic community, Ms Patel says this job was the most technically difficult mini-sheet yet undertaken. "We were required to provide motion across the whole mini-sheet, whereas prior to this we had only done MotionPrint at individual stamp size. It required all of our skills and through the process we hit the limits to what the printing press can achieve - the tolerances required proved to be beyond what a standard printing press can do. Our company is always pushing the boundaries of technical development and each job has its own unique requirements that require constant development of market innovation."
------------------------------
April 2008 - Kiwi ingenuity breaks ground in international art world
Kiwi MotionPrint imaging company, Outer Aspect, has developed a successful international niche market by applying innovative technology to create 3D imagery – including commissions to showcase the artwork of Renoir, Van Gogh and Salvador Dali
One of Outer Aspect’s recent successful productions was a 3D image of Renoir’s famous Boat Scene painting, which won a gold medal at this year’s NZ Pride In Print Awards, but that is only the tip of the iceberg for a company which has taken Kiwi ingenuity to the world market.
“The Renoir posters were produced for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Retail Store who framed them as limited edition artwork for sale to members and the general public visiting the museum,” says Outer Aspect marketing executive Sharmila Patel.
“But we have done similar jobs with other major works of art. We have done posters, postcards, fridge magnets, Cinderella stamps and cups for museum retail stores of Benjamin Franklin, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Frida Karlo and Salvador Dali to name a few.”
The Renoir story is typical of how Outer Aspect brings the work to NZ from offshore, says Sharmila.
“We were commissioned to reproduce this piece of art in 3D. We were supplied a colour-corrected digital image from the museum which was taken from the original artwork. A week was spent in-house on the image to create depth applying a 3D effect through digital image mapping and image generation techniques.
“The finished image was printed directly to the reverse side of the lens using our imaging process, and a laminate was applied over the top of the printed product to protect and provide further opacity. The end result was the painting reproduced in high definition 3D.”
Feedback from the client was excellent – “Given the client has been working with us for many years, they have been able to plot our continued development, innovation and reinvestment into our process. They felt very strongly this image was yet another milestone in innovation we have achieved, and where very excited with the results,” she says.
Outer Aspect has now developed a wide range of international clients to which the technology is applied. These range from museums, FMCG markets, out of home media, security products such as postal stamps through to individual photographers and artists.
“We are getting more innovative with our technology,” says Sharmila. “We can now transfer direct high definition video footage onto print using up to four seconds of video. A butterfly image we did, which was also entered into Pride In Print, uses actual HD footage of the butterfly flapping its wings. We did this for our own marketing material to show FMCG agencies around the world how our innovative technology can be applied”
Outer Aspect was founded in 1994 by Jonathan Moon, who trained in traditional laser-based holography. The “MotionPrint” technology was born from this background due to its high visual appeal, ability to produce multi colours and potential for broader usage and acceptance.
Since then Jonathan has spent 14 years constantly developing and innovating this technology and building an organisation that can commercialise these innovations.
Now, Outer Aspect’s Head headquarters are in Auckland (New Zealand), with staff in the USA, Australia and Europe.
About 90% of the company’s work is exported worldwide and 40% of profit is re-invested back into innovation. For this reason, 10% of staff are dedicated to developing market innovations.
Pride In Print judge Carolyn Vize studies the 3D Renior scene from Outer Aspect which won a gold medal at the 2008 Awards
Lenticular Printing
