Access All AreasA deep time-themed spectacular will open next month’s Edinburgh International Festival, celebrating the city’s ancient history.
‘Standard Life Opening Event: Deep Time’ will see production company 59 Productions project an animated narrative onto Edinburgh Castle on 7 August.
Mclcreate and Blue-i Theatre Technology will deliver the technical support and equipment for the job. A total of 42 projectors – delivering 840,000 lumes of light output – will be rigged for the event. Each one will be placed and synced by a team of technicians, turning Edinburgh Castle and the bedrock it stands on into an enormous 3D canvas.
The scale of the project rivals projection mapping on venues including Hampton Court Palace and the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
“Blue-i has provided projectors, servers and infrastructure for the event, and this expertise and professionalism has made the project fantastic to be involved in,” said Ross Blair, operations manager at mclcreate.
Blue-i Theatre Technology’s Ed Cooper added: “Projection is a powerful tool for engagement at these types of events. Working alongside mclcreate has allowed us to effectively support this show-stopping display at the iconic Edinburgh Castle.”
The free event signals the start of Edinburgh’s festival season, with both the International Festival and the Festival Fringe taking place throughout August.
“‘Standard Life Opening Event: Deep Time’ is a fantastic, complex and daring event that demonstrates the ambitions and skills of all those involved,” said John Robb, head of technical at Edinburgh International Festival. “It is great to be working with mclcreate and Blue-i Theatre Technology as it gives us the kit, expertise and facilities to deliver a production of such scale and technological complexity.”
Mclcreate has worked on the International Festival for the past 10 years, and is also a sponsor of the month-long event.