Green Hippo joins Stonehenge experience
- Details
Up until this happening, ‘playing Stonehenge’ had proved impossible. Deep, booming bass, large crowds, and ancient stones are not always a good mix and English Heritage, Stonehenge’s current protector, had turned down numerous requests from music acts. But one Alon Shulman was perfectly placed to make the gig happen.
Shulman is a special advisor to English Heritage and a business partner with DJ Paul Oakenfold. His live DJ set pitch ticked all the boxes: the show - including Live from Stonehenge, the album of Oakenfold’s DJ set - would raise funds for English Heritage; the event would introduce the Wiltshire monument, parts of which date back 5,000 years, to a new generation; the crowd would number but 50 lucky souls; and, thanks to ‘silent disco technology’ - aka headphones - the noise impact on the celebrated shrine was zero. At last, one of the ultimate scenes was set.
In contrast, though, to the serene setting, Motion Mapping had only 30 minutes between Stonehenge closing to the public and the guests arriving to get ready to dazzle. Speed and reliability were of the essence and Green Hippo and Hippotizer delivered exactly that. Using a pair of Hippotizer Karst Media Servers as the most suitable interface for precise 3D projection mapping, the team also used Datapath’s Fx4 controller to split the signal over 100m HDSDI cables to three projectors.
Allowing for moving the kit and setting up, the actual amount of time from the short throw projectors - restrictions about where the projectors could be placed were strict - was a mere 10 minutes. But the result was worth any amount of planning and creative stress.
As the sun set, the famous stones provided an unforgettable canvas for Green Hippo and Motion Mapping’s projections, resulting in amazing scenes as the lights danced on the surfaces of the rocks. Oakenfold was joined by fellow DJ Carl Cox and the pair played atmospheric - yet, silent to those without headphones - sets to the 50 ‘clubbers’.
As Oakenfold closed the gig, the crowd removed their headphones, Motion Mapping switched off the projectors, and all that could be heard was the faint sound of traffic from the nearby A303.
(Jim Evans)
