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Wednesday, 27 July 2011 22:17

Written by Barbara Vancheri

How cool is this. The Batsignal appeared tonight, not in the sky, but on the side of Downtown's Highmark building to welcome Warner Bros. and the cast and crew of "The Dark Knight Rises."

Local tech companies partnered with Highmark to project the iconic image on the Fifth Avenue building. It can be seen as you exit the Fort Pitt Tunnel and a handful of onlookers were spotted about 9:30 p.m. taking photos from the sidewalk across from the old state office building.

It's unknown how long the signal will appear (probably just a day or two) but it coincides with this week's start of filming of the third and final movie in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Nolan is already in town and if Christian Bale isn't here, he will be shortly. No project in the past 20 years has generated this level of excitement.

The Idea Foundry worked with Lightwave International to build the signal and technology. It's not exactly the same signal that has been featured in the movie but it's unmistakable in its green glory.

"To have our building featured is an honor not only because it is an anchor of the Pittsburgh skyline, but also because we are positioned at the gateway to the city's Cultural District and nothing could be more of a cultural attraction than a Hollywood film," Dr. Kenneth R. Melani, president and CEO of Highmark Inc. said.

Mike Matesic, CEO of Idea Foundry, said his company "is delighted only only to see major motion pictures like 'Batman' choose to film in Pittsburgh, but also to help them take advantage of all the other benefits our region's technology companies have to offer.

"What we're seeing with Lightwave is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how our local tech companies can help filmmakers produce, market, and generate new revenue streams for their movies and TV productions."

Photos courtesy of Lightwave International

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