The show takes place on the Esplanade down below in the center of the Tattoo’s new $26 million amphitheatre, featuring new seating tribunes, VIP Boxes, a dedicated projection platform, a large corporate hospitality area and improved sightlines.
A climate-controlled projection control room is also part of the new design, along with elevator access for the third floor of the production, which streamlines load-in by eliminating the need to have gear craned into place.
Along with the new physical amenities, including new FOH control areas at the back of the seating stand, The Tattoo also has a new chief executive and producer, Brigadier David Allfrey, an advocate of large format projections.
This year the Royal Navy is the Tattoo’s lead service, so many of the visual materials relate to the sea – and include giant sea dragons, kelpies, fishing boats, shipwrecks and an eclectic and rich selection of aquatic life and history. This imagery reaches its animated peak during the Scottish Dancing section.
The large-format images are a prominent part of the 2011 show, running almost constantly for the second part of the show once darkness falls.
“Working with David has been refreshing and very invigorating,” Ashton said. “He has brought a new direction and energy to the whole performance, and really appreciates what high technical production values can bring to the show and make the whole guest experience so much more special and memorable.”
With the projection platform being slightly further forward in the new physical layout, the images are covering an area of about 85 meters wide along the castle walls. The dark brown surface is as challenging as ever for projections, so Ashton opted to use four PIGI 6K projectors (supplied by White Light) with double rotating scrollers, fully loaded with film.
The new venue configuration sees the PIGIs in slightly different positions – the images from three machines are soft-edged together to make one large image. Projectors 1 and 2 are at the same level, while Projector 3 is somewhat lower than last year to cover the right hand edge of the Castle wall as it slopes away down the hill. That sloping angle brought its own special requirements to the artwork layout creation, noted Ashton. The fourth projector is covering the floor area immediately in front of the Castle Gates where all the show’s entrances and exits take place.
Along with the other changes, LD Gerry Mott was able to specify a new, more flexible lighting rig, and one more capable of harmonizing the projection and lighting. In response, Ashton has developed a more monochromatic look, which can be effectively colored with the application of carefully detailed and focused lighting.
Ashton had also used a black & white concept for specific parts of previous years shows, but this year’s show puts further emphasis on that concept. “I am delighted with the results – it was exactly what I wanted,” Ashton said.
Creating the show’s artwork and converting that into PIGI films – the scrolls are fully loaded – was an intensive process taking about a month in Ashton’s studio in London.
The projection has been programmed and is being operated on an OnlyCue system by Karen Monid, who worked to create intricate, fluid movements on the PIGI scrolls, incorporating all the wipes and dissolves in a signature rhythmic style.
For more information, please visit www.projecting.co.uk.
