PR was working for production company Limited Edition, for whom they are a frequent supplier of technical production design and services.
Outside, across the street from the entrance of Freemason's Hall, the PR crew built a scaffolding tower, and onto this was positioned two Panasonic 10K projectors, double stacked and fitted with .8 lenses.
The venue is an imposing Art Deco building dating back to 1933, now Grade II listed inside and out, and one of the finest examples of this architecture in the UK. The throw distance was 10m and the projection area about 45ft wide, above the main entrance door of the Freemason's Hall.
Four different static slides for the projection were supplied by the production company and replayed via a laptop. The PR team undertook some on-site editing to ensure that these were optimised for the application. Power for the projectors and control was sourced from the nearby Irish bar, O'Neill's, which proved a far more expedient solution than bringing in a generator.
The big challenge was lining up the projectors - a task for which they had only 15 minutes between dusk and the event going live.
A life-size Batman model was positioned on top of the roof of the Freemason's Hall, and this was highlighted with a Clay Paky Alpha Spot 1200, positioned next to the projector on the tower decking.
Inside, PR kitted out two areas on different levels with lighting and sound systems, including a small moving light rig comprising Martin MAC 250s. A d&b PA was used for presentational speeches, background music for the reception and for DJ set up that kicked in when the party started.
Says PR's Ian Coull: "It was a great job to be involved in for several reasons. It was interesting, different and required some lateral thinking. It was also high profile and with the timescale being so tight to get the trickiest element - the projection - spot on there was a bit of pressure! However, everyone worked together very well to produce great results."
Arkham City immediately jumped to number one of the UK Top 10 software sales charts.
(Jim Evans)
