Broadcast News

Bookmark and Share
06/11/2006

E\T\C UK Create Magic At 'Merlin's Magic Quest'

Large format projections specialists E\T\C UK created a 150 metre wide high-impact image across 350 metres of water onto Caernarfon Castle for a massive son et lumière event, 'Merlin’s Magic Quest', a show celebrating Welsh history, heritage and community.
The event follows on from a pilot project staged in 2004, in which E\T\C UK projected onto a portion of the castle walls from the bottom of the hill on the town side of the Seiont River. This time, the projections - fed by five PIGI 6Kw projectors with double rotating scrollers – filled the entire side of the castle including three towers and two ‘curtain’ walls facing the water - and were beamed from across the far side of the river.
The brown stone surface was a challenging surface on which to project, but the PIGI’s cut through spectacularly, despite the long throw distance.
The 35 minute show involved over 200 of images and filled the 40 metre PIGI scrolls. It was set to a specially composed soundtrack by Malcolm Rowe and also featured live acting by a re-enactment society. The results were spectacular.
Merlin’s Magic Quest was organised and produced by John Thirsk of Y Grael Cyf (The Grail), a not-for-profit organisation aiming to use lighting and visuals to boost Caernarfon as a visitor attraction, along the lines of Blackpool illuminations, the idea being to stage regular shows.
Thirsk storyboarded the show which was then pictorialised by E\T\C UK’s Ross Ashton, working with Paul Chatfield who turned them into PIGI artwork.
Interacting with the mist, the dusky skies and with sparkling reflections skimming across the water, the giant images made a dramatic and atmospheric filmic backdrop for everyone watching the compelling show. With no narrative track, each image had to be strong and speak for itself as the show recalled a millennium of Welsh history .
Ashton commented: “After the success of the pilot, it was great to see the full project come to fruition – and hats off to everyone at The Grail who persevered to get it staged . The castle is a fantastic building on which to work, augmented by fabulous surrounding scenery – all adding to some real ‘magic’ in the end result."
The E\T\C UK team of Ashton, Phil Pieridis and Karen Monid arrived onsite 5 days before the first show. Monid did all the onsite programming using an OnlyCue PC-based system, and this was one of the most complicated elements of the show. With only one PIGI machine per surface section of the castle, the fade ins and outs had to be staggered so they built up and fell away and effectively emulated a two complete cross fading images. Four solid nights of programming were required, working closely with the soundtrack.
The projectors were housed in specially built weatherised scaffolding hides, located in a garden across the Sieont, kindly donated for the duration by a resident. Generator power was supplied by Golden Triangle.
Two shows were run for two nights, with audiences choosing to view either from just below the castle on the town side or across the water.
The event was a resounding success, and John Thirsk commented: “This is the first of what we hope will be a series of son et lumières that will help revitalise the heart of the region, bringing an even greater sense of pride to Caernarfon and the surrounding areas.”
(DS)
Solidmate Ltd Memory Card Hire London

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

13/01/2020
disguise Servers Power Projections At 'Dear Evan Hansen' Show
The Tony Award-winning Best Musical 'Dear Evan Hansen' opened in London 19 November at the Noel Coward Theatre with video projection comprising the sh
11/08/2008
E/T/C London At Edinburgh Tattoo 2008
E/T/C London is supplying spectacular 90 metre wide large format image projections for the 2008 Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It's the fourth consecutive
08/02/2024
HOLOPLOT Scoops Best Of Show Award
With ISE's 20th edition deservedly hailed as its most successful yet, HOLOPLOT enjoyed an equally successful show. The Berlin-based pro audio company
18/04/2023
KitPlus Show Appoints Event Director
KitPlus Show has appointed Matt Snow as event director, to drive forward the growing programme of the shows. These regional events have proved to be e
22/12/2023
Chuckie Appointed New Host Of BBC 1Xtra's R&B Show
Chuckie has been named as the new host of BBC 1Xtra's R&B Show (Saturdays, 11pm-12.30am), with the first show broadcasting on Saturday 24 February 202
31/10/2023
Sky News Launches New Primetime Show
Sky News is launching a new primetime show 'Friday Night with Niall Paterson' on 03 November. Join Niall for a fresh look back at the news that made t
30/10/2023
Macnica To Bring Open Standards Interoperability To The InterBEE Show
Macnica is bringing its message of open standards interoperability to its first InterBEE show, where the company will offer demonstrations and insight
21/12/2011
Projection Studio Revisits Caerphilly Castle Illuminata Show
Projection artist Ross Ashton of London, UK based The Projection Studio was invited back to Caerphilly Castle in Wales – by popular demand - to recrea
19/04/2018
Ikegami To Show New Camera Additions At The Media Production Show
Ikegami Electronics (Europe) is to showcase two new additions to its camera range at the the Media Production Show in London, June 12-13. The Ikegami
02/03/2018
Barix To Show Final Shipping Version Of Redundix At 2018 NAB Show
Barix is set to unveil the final shipping version of Redundix, its cost-effective solution that automatically corrects glitches and failures on IP STL
07/06/2002
Production Show hailed as 'outright success'
The organisers of The Production Show have announced the 2002 event was an "outright success", with visitor numbers up 15% on last year and over 50% o
10/03/2023
Broadcast Beat Studios To Produce Four-Day International Telecast
Broadcast Beat Studios (booth# C8835) and Broadcast Beat, in association with NAB, will produce the 2023 edition of NAB Show LIVE from NAB Show® in La
14/08/2014
Making The Most Of IBC2014...
Part of the fun of IBC is being in Amsterdam with the choice of food, drink and entertainment on offer, however IBC and NAB are so pivotal to the broa
04/07/2016
Production News : Sky Agrees Exclusive Rights To Late Late Show With James Corden
'The Late Late Show with James Corden' is to be brought to the UK and Ireland for the first following a new agreement between Sky and CBS for the excl
07/07/2023
NAB Show And FMC Announce AI Creative Summit
NAB Show and Future Media Conferences (FMC), with sponsorship by Dell Technologies, has announced the AI Creative Summit. The series of training event