Projection was on the cards from an early stage. Rogers wanted something that would give a unique look and was easily travelled. He approached XL Video's arts and theatre specialist Malcolm Mellows and together they explored the different options. They came up with the two projectors which can be front- or rear-rigged, depending on the venue.
The first 12 minutes of the show features non-stop projection onto an opera gauze covering the mouth of the stage. The band is lit behind this for a dramatic start. The gauze then flies out and there's no further projections for the first section of the show. The second half features Vivaldi's four seasons, for which an asymmetric screen drops in upstage of the orchestra, and is projected on throughout.
One projector was used per screen for the Hackney shows - each trimmed to the specific surface area, but the set up also offers the option of using one projector and re-setting it for the second surface area during the interval. All source material was stored on a Martin Maxedia digital media server operated both by Rogers via his Maxxys lighting console and also manually by his associate James Marks.
Rogers filmed some of the footage himself, culled other elements from the artist's archives, integrated his own still photos and also pulled some clips from the Maxedia's onboard library. He and Marks worked together to edit the final material using Premier and 3D Studio MAX.
It was the first time Rogers had worked with XL Video, which he found an entirely positive experience. XL also supplied (name ??)Mark Hughes to tech the Hackney show. "It was great" says Rogers, "He came in, set up the projectors and they worked exactly as they should. It was a completely smooth operation from XL, which helped us out enormously as we were under a lot of pressure to get the show programmed and ready including running a dress rehearsal."
XL Video's Mellows commented: "The Red Priest Show is fantastic! Ben's visual design and lighting work fit together perfectly and are an integral part of the experience. We look forward to working with Ben in the future; he brings great energy to a myriad of exciting arts projects . . . Many of which are avant-garde and tinged with danger!"
Rogers utilized a Martin moving light rig and sound was supplied by Orbital and designed/engineered by Gareth Owen.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
