White Light supplied lighting, cable, rigging equipment, and production support for the Illuminated Trail, Culture Creative's biggest nature-based project to date. The project continues a long relationship between the two companies, with White Light supplying several Culture Creative projects over the past eight years including illuminated trails and outdoor site specific work across the UK from Kent to Glasgow.
For the project, White Light supplied 24 tonnes of lighting equipment, 900m of rigging bars, more than 26km of cable, and more than 300 ways of dimming to get the show up and keep it running. Staged deliveries from White Light's base in Wimbledon brought more than 650 fixtures to site ranging from simple Par 64 lanterns up to the latest in LED technology. Key fixtures included Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1200s, Chroma-Q ColorPunch units, ETC Source 4 profiles, SGM P5 LEDs, and Vari-lite 2000s. Lighting control for the various on site sections came from Avolites Pearl consoles while Look Solutions Viper hazers provided atmospheric effects on the trail.
At Kew's Palm House, Phil Supple created a vivid four minute light show to serve as the trail's finale, using more than 40 new SGM P5 wash lights to bring the trail's largest structure to life. The powerful RGBW units pack a punch with 44 individual LEDs producing more than 23,000 lumens per unit. The P5s offered Supple a bright, low-power lighting solution for the project, providing countless colour options and interchangeable lenses for added flexibility. The SGM fixtures are new to White Light's hire stock and are already in high demand for concert touring, live events, and installation clients.
Culture Creative director Zoë Bottrell describes the special nature of the Kew Illuminated Trail, "This project has been the longest and most challenging trail we have undertaken in terms of length of trail, complexity of infrastructure and length of run, 27 shows. Working with White Light and the team is always a pleasure and they are an integral part of the success of how our site specific work can be delivered. We have always had exceptional service and 2013 was no different - from warehouse prep to site services everyone has been great."
As for tackling the project's inherent challenges - White Light hire director Dave Isherwood says, "It was a lot of fun. We love working on Culture Creative projects, especially where we can do something that has never been done before - like the Kew Gardens Trail." He continued, "Two of the biggest challenges were the large amount of equipment across an expansive space and the outdoor conditions. We were able to overcome these by carefully planning logistics and providing flexible support for Phil [Supple] and his team. The end result was fantastic and we are proud to be a part of it."
(Jim Evans)
