E\T\C followed on from their huge success of projecting onto Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, by supplying sixteen PIGI 7 Kw projectors for the opening of the 17th Commonwealth Games in Manchester. The event was declared open by the Queen and attended by a live audience of 38,000 and an estimated TV audience of 500 million. The projection equipment – the largest supply of PIGI to date in the UK – was provided by E\T\C to the Games’ main production contractor Jack Moreton Worldwide. E\T\C also supplied a programmer for both opening and closing ceremonies and a full crew of technicians.
The projectors are all rigged on trussing under the City of Manchester stadium roof – eight on the East stand and eight on the West, pointing down at the pitch. Their ballasts are actually on top the stadium’s roof, encased in customised weatherproof housings specially developed by E\T\C. The projectors are an integral part of the lighting shows for both Opening and Closing ceremonies - and were specified by the ceremony project’s co-lighting designers, Andy Bridge and Andy Doig. Fitted with PIGI double-rotating scrollers, the projectors all beam down onto the pitch floor (covered by a white cloth for the shows) casting spectacular texturing and patterns for all to see. The spectacular Opening and Closing events are choreographed and feature over performers, including 5,500 athletes from the 72 competing countries. The effects creates big, bold and mega bright images on the pitch, ranging from stars and moons and other graphic style effects to colourful patchworks.
PIGI projectors were specified because they were the only lightsource powerful enough to punch through the 30 metre throw distance from roof to pitch, and also deal with the floor also being heavily flooded with large conventional moving wash lights and spotlights. The results and the impact of the PIGI’s on the 3-hour high-energy opening were dazzling! The projectors will be used in a similar fashion for the Closing, which promises to be every bit as exciting as the Opening. | Click on the pictures for the large version |
