Bringing history to light

Projection Studio has been involved in a number of recent projects which have lit up castles, cathedrals and other historic buildings.

Projection artist and digital art specialist Ross Ashton is able to bring building’s histories to life in colourful, accessible, informative and entertaining narratives. He recently created three new son et lumière shows for Colchester Castle, UK, comprising a giant projection onto one of the castle’s internal walls, accompanied by a soundtrack by sound artist Karen Monid.

The castle – which recently reopened having been closed for 15 months to undergo a £4.2m ($7.1m, €5.3m) transformation – wanted the shows to inspire visitors to learn more about the building’s history. “The challenge was picking a selection of historical moments that would best translate to large format projection and also encapsulate the scope and breadth of the Castle’s story in a short timeframe,” says Ashton.

As well as storyboarding, scripting and producing the three stories, Ashton designed the projection system, which has a Panasonic PT-DW17K at the centre, fitted with a .6 short throw lens. The projector is attached to the ceiling and projects an image 15 metres (49 feet) wide by 10 metres (33 feet) tall. Installation was completed by Sysco AV.

In another project, The Projection Studio collaborated with artist Maria Rud to take its Animotion concept to Durham Cathedral, UK. The company projected nine painted sequences onto the wall of the cathedral’s library, accompanied by live music. The adjacent cloisters were lit by a scheme designed by Ranald Neilson that complemented the projection.

“This idea can work in numerous locations and environments,” says Ashton.

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Giant images were beamed onto the wall by a single Panasonic PT-DZ21K machine

Giant images were beamed onto the wall by a single Panasonic PT-DZ21K machine

Audio interpretation

A museum which explores the life and legacy of 16th US president Abraham Lincoln is using Alcorn McBride audio systems to interpret the world in which he lived.

The Lincoln Heritage Museum opened in 1942, but with a growing collection moved in April this year to a new Lincoln Center at the campus of Lincoln College, Illinois, US. The museum features multiple presentations about the president within each room. Visitors interact with 53 audio and video programmes by way of 35 motion and touch-points, which are controlled by proximity sensors from Technovision.

Alcorn McBride’s Digital Binloop carries the surround sound audio, while its A/V Binloop HD provides synchronised video playback. Other Alcorn McBride AV and control systems were used, with DMX Machines controlling about 400 lights in the museum, a ProTraXX 16-channel audio player being used for other programs; and a V16 Pro serving as the show controller.

Eidson Studios performed the AV design and installation, while Taylor Studios, of Rantoul, Illinois was the exhibit design, fabrication and lighting firm for the project.  

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Presentations include a reenactment video of Lincoln’s assassination and a multimedia review of Lincoln’s life

Mission accomplished at Tate Modern

Lighting and visual design ­practice Renegade’s recent installation at London’s Tate Modern became an art exhibit in its own right.

The lighting installation at the famous Turbine Hall was for a special event marking brand and live communications agency Mission’s 10th anniversary. Renegade’s Nick Gray aimed to highlight the room’s imposing industrial architecture – the gallery was formerly Bankside Power Station – and bring it into a new dimension and context using the full height and scale. The Turbine Hall measures 152 metres (499 feet) long and 35 metres (115 feet) high.

“Most visitors don’t immediately notice a lot of the detail, so lighting the space is a big chance to make it almost into an art exhibit in its own right for the evening,” said Gray.

Using white light, Gray also introduced repetitive number sequences in the design – in multiples of 10 – representative of Mission’s 10-year celebrations. The design also preserved and accentuated the overall sightlines rather than losing them for the sake of “standard” lighting effects.

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Using entirely white light created an atmospheric monochrome effect

Circus fun and Paralympic Games

Martin lighting systems are deployed in a number locations and projects but two unique projects this year were an ice show in Russia celebrating the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and a circus festival in China.

The ice show at Yubileny Sport Palace in St Petersburg was provided by equipment supplier Euroshow and held before the final stage of the Torch Relay.

The Martin fixtures were selected based on their functionality and brightness, and the lighting concept of the show featured creative lighting and midair effects.
Euroshow’s lighting designer Alexey Yevstifeyev used a combined truss mounting and floor mounting system and placed the MAC 101 fixtures on the floor around the ice hockey rink where the show took place. With the ice surface itself an ­integral element of performance design, Yevstifeyev deployed the MAC Viper to get the maximum out of the space he was given.

In Zhuhai, China, Martin’s M6 Console was selected to control and calibrate the lighting systems for the 10-day Changlong International Circus Festival. The console offers advanced visualisation of lighting control, accommodating a product range from traditional fixtures to moving lights and the most advanced media servers.
“During shows that span multiple days, it is imperative for the lighting systems to be controlled by a console that can consistently keep up with the pace without failure,” says Yuri Zhang, vice GM of local Martin distributor Guangzhou Dan-Pro Stage Equipment. “To this end, the body of the console consists of a lightweight aluminium shell, which also allows for a compact design and fast set-up times.”

Denmark-based Martin is the lighting division of global infotainment and audio company Harman International Industries.

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Martin lighting systems can be seen in action at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games Torch Relay