When I was a kid, I would get in trouble for bringing my laser pointer to church… especially if I dared to shine it somewhere clever during the service! I’m sure many of you reading this were that kid, too.

I guess we were just ahead of our time. If only they knew…that one day…it would be some of our JOBS to shine bright lights & create images on the walls during the middle of ‘worship’! haha! #redemption =)

So get this: there’s a church in the Czech Republic that actually promotes the use of laser pointers! And the lasers trigger the coolest display of mapped environmental projection I’ve ever seen! And not only does it trigger projection, but music & sound effects as well.

Check it out:

Mashable reports: An interesting 3D projection and music installation by projection mapping collective Macula transformed a Baroque church in the Czech Republic into a virtual musical instrument that could be interacted with using laser pointers. The virtual surface of the Olomouc Baroque de-baptized chapel’s interior was mapped, and parts of the architecture reinterpreted by virtual visual elements via projection and sound.

Up to 10 visitors could interact with the Archifon installation at a time, by directing laser pointers at more than 100 elements to trigger different audiovisual actions. Angel statues sing when the laser points at them, window parts represent tones of the different instruments, elements of the paintings play different soundscapes, and sliding up and down the pillars creates a range of visual effects. 

So next time you see that laser pointer dot show up in church, just remember, that annoying kid just might be the world’s next Michelangelo! You just never know. =)

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Thanks to Ainslie Grosser (friend & sound designer at Journey) for showing me this video. You rock, Ains!