E//T//C supplied two of their new Christie 25K HD projectors, two Barco R18 projectors and an OnlyView control system for the show. The projectors were positioned side by side on the balcony of the main room at Grosvenor House, their images soft-edged together to form one large super-bright 70ft wide by 18ft deep image in 16:9 format.
Using OnlyView, E//T//C created 'windows' in the main screen for playback and IMAG video footage (projected via the R18s) to appear during the speech section of the evening, and again for some of the awards presentations. The 'Window' playback footage and VT play-in material was supplied from the client's own PPU, overseen by Perkins. A live four-camera IMAG mix supplied by StageRight was also fed into the OnlyView system, and woven into the show by programmer and operator Philip Pieridis. He comments, "Creating this effect in OnlyView is extremely quick and easy - one of the great advantages and flexibility of this system, especially when you have limited on-site programming time."
Perkins also supplied the E//T//C team with a series of digital backgrounds - consisting of both stills and video clips - which were loaded into OnlyView and projected across the whole screen and the entire surface area of the stage and set. Later on in the evening, 'picture-in-picture' effects were created using OnlyView and the Christie 25s. The projectors were fed live camera footage that was projected onto the screen and over the stage and set, making live, quirky and funky backdrops out of real-time audience footage and action.
E//T//C UK head of video Andy Joyes comments, "Creating the set projection using the two Christie K25's gave the client the kind of animated set wash and image brightness that would previously have been impossible. OnlyView allows us to create exciting effects very easily, and also to install and run the show under the time pressures that are the norm for these kinds of events."
(Jim Evans)
