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For Heritage Week Parramatta Council appointed
Don Gunn of the Public Event Team to light Lennox Bridge in a very special and
unique way. The idea was to project famous Australian poems onto the bridge
and surrounding architecture. Originally it was planned to use Pigi projectors
but the budget did not allow for this.
So Don asked Chameleon Touring's Tony Davies
is he thought a moving head luminaire could give the desired effect and Tony
immediately recommended the MAC2000 and MAC2000 Performance fixtures.
A trial was conducted with Chameleon's Michael
'Simmo' Simpson in charge and Don Gunn was, by all accounts, very happy with
the result.
Four 2500W CityColors were used to wash the
bridge, two either side, in a variety of colours. Eight MAC2000 and four MAC2000
Performance fixtures were also situated either side of the bridge. The MAC2000
Performance fixtures projected water effects underneath the bridge. Five MAC2000
were placed riverside to produce the rolling poetry along the water
"The bridge has a large arch which enabled
us to fire the MAC2000P fixtures underneath the bridge," explained Simmo. "Five
MAC2000 fixtures placed on a platform projected the poems letter by letter.
As the fixtures swept down the river the letters formed the sentences of the
poem. The first letter would go down the river from one MAC2000, then the next
letter from the next MAC2000 and so on. By the time the fifth letter had gone,
the first MAC2000 switched to the sixth letter. It was basically creating sentences
on water with MAC2000s and it worked really well."
Simmo admits the job was a challenge and
the time allowed to complete the project was not ideal but he was pleased with
the outcome.
"The idea could be refined a lot more but
for a first attempt at this kind of projection it worked really well," he said.
"You could read the sentences extremely clearly. We also projected poems of
up to seven sentences onto nearby buildings and they were also very clear. Due
to the amount of fixtures we had, I'd project the first paragraphs, fade it
out and then do a rolling black to the next paragraph. The intensity would come
on in another cue and there'd be the next paragraph.
"It was quite technical and time consuming
but the end result was very successful. The idea and concept is all there it
just needs to be refined a bit more. In my opinion, the MAC2000 doesn't want
to become a projector lamp but it has the capabilities and brightness to do
just that. It has the movement, can handle weather and is inexpensive."
The show ran in a stand-alone setup on a
WholeHog II every night for the entire Heritage Week.
EQUIPMENT LIST
13 x MAC2000
4 x MAC2000P
4 x CityColor
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