Hawthorn supports ITV drama showcase
- Details
Creative technical event production company Hawthorn supported the ITV Studios team to showcase dramas soon to launch to the international market. Featuring a 360-degree projection, the Hawthorn team delivered full technical production for the Drama Festival including lighting, video, sound and draping.
With the event showcasing programmes such as World War Two drama World On Fire and screen adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts + Crosses, content was key. Designed to immerse the audience in a world of storytelling and make the most of the impressive birdcage architecture, Hawthorn collaborated with event production designer Matt Gates to deliver a 360-degree projection solution.
A main hero screen, measuring 14.3m x 6.79m, was created using two of Hawthorn’s Barco UDX-4K32 projectors, delivering full 4K playback. Over 65m of custom-made voile draping were then installed around the venue’s iconic pillars to allow the content to seamlessly run out from the central screen, completely enveloping the space.
Nineteen Panasonic RZ970 laser projectors were used to display content between the pillars, creating nineteen screens that worked alongside the hero screen to create the 360-degree experience. Five disguise media servers were used for playback, managing a whopping 2.9tb of content, produced by agencies Zealot, Ignition and I Drew This.
Hawthorn partnered with in-house sound company Britannia Row to create a 5.1 surround sound system. repurposing the in-house equipment to introduce cinematic audio. The surround sound, combined with the 360-degree projection, created a completely immersive viewing experience for the audience, putting them right in the heart of the action.
A simplistic lighting design was used to enhance the event environment. Working alongside the in-house lighting rig, the team installed new front, side and back lighting using Clay Paky Scenius Profiles. The pre and post screening drinks space was enhanced with larger than life props, supplied by ITVE, and lit with a combination of Hawthorn’s Robe PATT 2013 and PicklePatt fixtures alongside GDS battery uplighters.
Scott Rooney-Ashby, account director at Hawthorn said: “We were absolutely delighted to have been chosen to deliver the technical production for the ITV Studios Drama Festival. The fantastic in-house events team at ITV Studios always strive to turn the traditional screening experience on its head which is technically challenging but endlessly exciting for us here at Hawthorn.”
Adrian Last, EVP, director of ITV Studios marketing said: “Our ambition for the second annual ITV Studios Drama Festival was to create a fully immersive screening experience which put our customers at the very heart of our new drama content. Hawthorn, working alongside our creative agencies, were able to deliver a solution which ingeniously utilised the Roundhouse space - with jaw-dropping results.”
(Jim Evans)
