Castle Nightclub Chicago

Chicago is the epicenter for live entertainment, especially for house / EDM music and nightlife culture. A La Carte Entertainment called on DCBolt Productions to design and build a one-of-a-kind, immersive, 3D projection mapped stage, dynamic LED system, custom VJ software and control system for its 60,000 square foot entertainment venue that houses 6x distinct nightclubs and restaurants. One of the oldest, original castles in Chicago, the building survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. With its timeless, ornate architecture, Castle provided a unique canvas to create a dynamic lighting and video backdrop for thousands of live, touring artists, DJs, acrobats, fire dancers and other various performances. DCBolt delivered this project completely turn-key, providing everything from the design and engineering of the system, to the full installation, programming, configuration, and custom content creation.

DCBolt created custom content using a variety of 3D programs, including Cinema 4D, Maya, Softimage, Houdini, Nuke, After Effects and Zbrush.

There are over 25,000 dynamically driven LED lights installed throughout the Palladium,
many of which make up two, massive LED bands that sweep around the dance floors on two balconies, allowing for a completely immersive audio-driven light show.

In addition to the LED strips, DCBolt installed 9x custom-built LED panel screens curving around walls, behind bars and VIP areas to allow for the spread of higher resolution content to every possible nook and cranny. The audience is completely emerged in architecturally dynamic light and graphics as soon as they walk through the door.

The performance attributes are controlled via APC40 to run the entire projection and lighting system over 3x servers and 4x separate, custom software packages simultaneously allowing for 1x operator to control everything at the click of a button, turn of a knob, or slide of a fader.

Conceptualized in 2012 and launched on New Years Eve 2013, this project was a turning point for DCBolt in defining itself as a custom technology solutions provider, far beyond conventional audiovisual services and into creating more immersive, multi-sensory environments.