E//T//C was initially approached by Event Lighting from Bermondsey to undertake the project, which needed a great deal of artwork produced with just 10 days of lead time. The show was an enjoyed by 350 guests after dinner, located in a translucent-fronted marquee in the middle of the courtyard. The guest list included businessmen, film directors, actors, musicians, designers and writers both Russian and English. "We wanted to create an informal atmosphere for creative thinkers to exchange ideas," said Lieran Stubbings who organized the event for the Russian Economic Forum. "The chance to projecting onto such a massive and majestic surface was not to be missed" enthused Ross Ashton, adding "Being given carte blanche in the creative process was also a brilliant way to work."
Taking the theme of Dunhill's 'Red Squares', Ashton evolved the show that encompassing a great diversity of imaginative concepts from the lyrical to the hallucinogenic. He worked in tandem with Paul Chatfield to produce the media. Ashton made much use of masking techniques to realise the many effects, visual magic and transitions that were integral to his complex show.
Over 60m of film were loaded onto the six PIGI 6kW projectors utilised in the show. The projectors - all with double rotating scrollers - were hand-carried up several flights of stairs in pieces and then reassembled on the roof of the Seamen's Hall in a specially constructed weatherised platform installed for the event. Three doubled-up images were produced, each covering 25sq.m of the building fascia.
The show was programmed by Karen Monid using PIGI OnlyCue software . . . and the programming schedule included two days of pre-programming at E//T//C's new facility in Essex. This enabled them to turn up to site with 90% of it ready to roll - "a huge advantage in terms of the available on-site programming time," said Ashton.
Monid pushed the OnlyCue software to its limits, taking advantage of the flexibility of being able to create customised effects curves for the PIGI's various motors - controlling the scrollers, rotation, dimmer etc. "I precisely plotted the pace of the movement, engineered very subtle crossfades and worked very closely to the sound track" she explains, "It was essential to Ross's show design to have tight synchronisation, great fluidity and the feeling of continual motion".E//T//C UK's show crew were Sam MacLaren and Michael Barry and the installation team was led by Phil Pieridis with Phil Supple and Adam Masters. Sound equipment was supplied by Griff Hewis from Sound By Design. "We were very pleased with the results - the effect was fantastic and the images very impressive" said Lieran Stubbings.
(Lee Baldock)
