Projection artist Ross Ashton of London, UK based The Projection Studio created artwork and designed a large format video projection system for the fabulous Illuminata son et lumière at Caerphilly Castle.
The commission was from Cadw, the Welsh Assembly Government division responsible for preserving and promoting the history and heritage of Wales. It is the first time that an entertainment spectacle of this type has been commissioned for one of their historical monuments. Ashton’s 20 minute work depicted the history and stories of the castle, accompanied by an audio track produced by sound artist Karen Monid. It ran twice nightly for two weeks to a paying audience.
The work was projected onto two buildings in the Inner Ward of the Castle – the rear of the Gatehouse, and the Main Hall, at 90 degrees to its right. The images measured approximately 30 metres wide onto both surfaces. The three Christie HD 18 projectors were positioned 50 metres away.
All the content – including some impressive PiP elements shaped and fitted millimetre-perfectly to the architecture of the buildings – was loaded onto three OnlyView servers, and programmed by via an OnlyView producer module.
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Regus, the world’s largest provider of workplace solutions, has opened a new headquarters in Berkeley Square, in London’s Mayfair. In keeping with the desirable location, the office features a newly expanded business centre as well as a number of meeting rooms, conference suites, restaurant and bar. Interior design was carried out by architect Barr Gazetas, with Smartcomm responsible for the cutting-edge audio visual installation. The av solution covers the basement conference suite, ground floor reception the bar and restaurant, as well as meeting rooms on the ground and first floors and features a Crestron control system.
“During the design process,” says Mark Allen of Smartcomm, “we had to keep in mind that the meeting and conference rooms would have a different user every day. Furthermore it would be likely that these users would be visiting for their first time and have no previous experience of the av systems. From our experience we knew that a Crestron system would make laptop connection simple, and when combined with a touch panel, would ensure simple functionality allow and let the user to select the material they want to see displayed on the screen quickly and easily. We took Regus to the Crestron hq in Cobham and also as one of our recent award winning installations to see this in action and from there they bought into our ideas in a big way.”
The installation features the Crestron TPS-6X. While docked, the TPS-6X is a hard wired panel with full-motion video display and when undocked the panel automatically switches to a wireless RF device with long-range, high-speed two-way RF communication up to 200 feet.
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The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) in Laie, Hawaii has purchased a complement of six Robert Juliat DMX Cyrano followspots which the Center immediately used for its “Ha: Breath of Life” show.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is one of Hawaii’s top attractions. Set on 42 acres on the North Shore of Oahu, the PCC offers a chance to explore many of the Polynesian cultures in the South Pacific. Billed as Hawaii’s newest ancient story with a cast of more than 100, “Ha: Breath of Life” is an evening spectacle featuring singers, dancers, fire-knife performers and drummers staged in the dramatic 2,800-seat Pacific Theater.
4 Wall Entertainment in Las Vegas made the sale of the Cyrano 2500W HMI followspots that feature a high-performance quartz condenser optical system and DMX-controlled dimmer.
Brent Pritchett, project manager at 4 Wall, specified the Cyranos for the PCC and worked with the Center to set up the new fixtures. “I’ve always been very happy with the ergonomics of the followspots and their user-friendliness which is important for this customer since a lot of their operators are students without a lot of experience,” he explains. “The functionality of the units and the positioning of the fast-locking focusing handles and iris are all designed to make operation easy for non-professionals.”
DMX control is also simple, he reports. “It’s likely to be the first time behind a followspot for the students so I wanted DMX control of fade outs so everything can be done simultaneously,” Pritchett says, “ and match the dimmer curve of the rest of fixtures.”
Crystal Le Club is an exciting new club venue in Brescia, Italy, located within the imposing Crystal Palace skyscraper. The vibe is one of smart, stylish, funky elegance.
There is one main room on the first floor plus a smaller “Blanc De Blanc” VIP area below, and in keeping with the exclusive feel of the venue, they wanted a super cool lighting scheme to complement the stunning interior design. This features lots of mirrored surfaces, branched candlesticks and crystal ornaments and objects which reflect light beautifully all around the space, adding a nice warm ambience.
The lighting is designed by Emanual Pintos from locally-based Morix Italia. He has used both Anolis and Robe products. For the main room, Pintos specified four ColorWash 250E ATs and four ColorSpot 170 ATs which are installed to the centre and at the sides of the dancefloor. These units were chosen for their brightness, features and compact size and they fit into the space perfectly.
In Blanc De Blanc, there are another four ColorSpot 170 ATs, used for effects and creating atmosphere. All around the club, washing the walls and bars are 20 Anolis ArcSource 3 RGB fixtures with 38 degree lenses and 20 Anolis ArcSource 3 RGBs with 6 degree lenses. All lighting is run through a Light Jockey control system.
