AV rental specialist Blitz has created a weeklong son et lumière event in the atmospheric setting of Oxford’s Oriel College. The show, entitled “1326 And All That”, was a specially commissioned narrative of the college’s history. It featured a dramatic 100ft by 50ft projection onto the façade of Oriel’s Front Quadrangle, combined with theatrical lighting effects, narrative voiceover and a cast of characters from the college’s past.
The show was created to mark a combination of three events: the unveiling of a new portrait of the Queen by artist Jeff Stultiens, the retirement of the head of the college, Provost Ernest Nicholson and the launch of a new fundraising programme by the college’s Development Trust.
Blitz project managed all technical aspects of the 45-minute show, using E\T\C to create scroll artwork with historical material from the college’s archives. Projection onto the towers, turrets and arched windows of the three hundred and sixty year old buildings was via two 6K PIGI projectors, each fitted with double rotating scrollers. To achieve the correct projection angle the projectors had to be manoeuvred into a room at the top of a narrow stone spiral staircase, with just 5mm of clearance in places. The image designer for the PIGI show was E\T\C’s Ross Ashton with Karen Monid programming the projectors. | Click on the pictures for the large version |
