Getting Ready For Oklahoma's Centennial Celebration

Tuesday, November 7th 2006, 9:43 am

By: News On 6

Organizers tell the News on 6; it will be like nothing we've ever seen before. Actually neither have they. In many ways it will be uncharted territory. â€œIt" is a multi-media kickoff for the Oklahoma Centennial scheduled for Tulsa next week.

News on 6 reporter Rick Wells was in downtown Tulsa as the heavy lifting began. A crew from Midwest Crane is doing the heavy lifting on this project. They spent Tuesday morning, moving the first of 7 digital projectors to the top of the Benson Building at 7th and Boston. A building a block away will serve as the projection screen.

Kelly Ford with Avcom Productions: "the image will be 8 times bigger than the average movie theater screen." They will have to put a special reflective film over the windows, to get the best image. They've already tested the film on another downtown Tulsa building.

There will be 10 projectors in three locations all rolling the same Centennial video. Kelly Ford: "It'll be everything Oklahoma, history, people, music to places in the state."

Celebrate Productions from Carrier, Oklahoma is coordinating the entire event. They have produced Olympic ceremonies and other multi-media events around the world. There will be 7 laser optic tables scattered around downtown buildings to project the laser lights. The only thing like this before was the Tulsa Centennial in 1998.

Like 1998, the lasers, the fireworks and the video will be set to music. "Choreographed to a very cool sound track." They tell us it would be like nothing we have ever seen in the state before. This multi-media grand fanfare is set for Saturday the 18th.

Organizers will be running tests of the equipment, so don't surprised to see lasers, fireworks and video images projected on downtown buildings between now and then.