E\T\C UK Projects For Night Of The Proms 2006

E\T\C UK is supplying PIGI projection to the 2006 Night of The Proms spectacular.
The event is a three month sold out arena-sized show that combines classical and pop music. It tours Belgium, Holland and Germany and is the most popular and most visited live performance in Europe.
It is the third year running that the show's visual designer Geert Vanhout has used large format projection as an integral element. "It adds an extra dimension and depth to the stage, and also gives us a good source for narrative suggestion," Vanhout commented.
Night of the Proms is a demanding in terms of producing visuals, and each year Vanhout comes up with a new and original concept and design. The performance runs for three hours, featuring a 72-piece orchestra, 50 choir, a five piece electric band and a guest artist line up that currently includes UB40, Tears For Fears, Ike Turner, Ruth Jacott, Tony Henry, John Miles, Il Novecento and Fine Fleur.
This year Vanhout is using two overlaid PIGI projectors, both fitted with double rotating scrollers to beam onto an oval shaped mid-stage centre positioned surface. Arranging the projectors like this enables them to utilise the full potential of the scrollers for contra-masking and other effects.
The rectangular gauze is rigged onto a customised roll drop mechanism, with the 13 metre wide by 9 metre deep ovular shape created by blacking out the square edges.
Over the stage are four irregularly shaped scenic trussing triangles that fly in and out (when the projection is running), and far upstage is a vast ShowLED cloth.
The PIGI projection and the ShowLED - fed from an Arkaos system - are sometimes used in conjunction with each other, and both are controlled through a WholeHog II lighting console run by Olivier Demoustier, which is also running over 200 moving lights. Vanhout operates all the conventionals plus colour scrollers, smoke machines and other technology from an Avolites Pearl console.
The 6K PIGI projectors are positioned on their own FOH truss in front of the screen, sitting in special flying cradles designed and built by E\T\C UK.
"PIGI projection is an ideal compliment and contrast to the images being produced on the LED back-cloth," said Vanhout who first introduced PIGI projection into the show in 2004.
Projection is used in about half of the show’s 32 songs and each projector is fully loaded with 40 metres of film. Vanhout worked closely with E\T\C UK’s Ross Ashton and Paul Chatfield to produce the projection artwork, all of which was specially originated for the show.
Ashton commented: "We had a lot of fun working on the content and the results speak for themselves in terms of impact and what they bring to the performance."
It’s a lively mix of images encompassing colourful Native American Indian hieroglyphics, dreamy landscapes, swirling abstracts and texturings and numerous others, topped by some quirky, highly comical cartoon character rats that strut their stuff, large spliffs in hand, for UB 40’s classic 'Rat In Mi Kitchen'. The rats were drawn by artist and animator Bill Mather, an associate of Chatfield’s.
The PIGI artwork changes as the show visits the different countries, along with the guest artist line up, necessitating the diligent task of adding new artwork to the scrolls, whilst ensuring that what’s already been programmed is not affected.
Night of The Proms has just finished its run at Rotterdam Ahoy and is now touring Germany until Christmas.
(DS)