E/T/C UK's Ross Ashton designed a specially commissioned projection artwork for Durham Cathedral as part of the four-day "Lumière" Durham Festival of Light event.

E/T/C UK's Ross Ashton designed a specially commissioned projection artwork for Durham Cathedral as part of the four-day "Lumière" Durham Festival of Light event, curated and co-ordinated by Artichoke. Ashton's work, "Crown of Light", covered the entire North fascia of the Cathedral including all sides of the three towers, It was the largest installation of the festival, and arguably also the biggest cathedral projection to date in the UK.

Durham Cathedral dates back to 1093 and is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the country. It is a designated UNESCO world Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle which faces it across Palace Green.

Ashton received an initial brief from Artichoke's Helen Marriage and Nicky Webb about the narrative and direction of the show. Taking these as a creative starting point for the storyboard, he then input and developed his own ideas.

The story encompassed the history of the cathedral including the Lindesfarne Gospels, noted for their amazing accompanying imagery and spectacular Celtic calligraphy. These were originated by the Lindesfarne Monks and stored in Durham Cathedral for many years, along with the bones of St Cuthbert which still reside there. Ashton's piece also explored the building as an architectural space and its relationship with and historical significance to the city.

He and Paul Chatfield evolved the PIGI projection artwork using high-powered digital projectors and large-format film strips over a period of two weeks, simultaneously collaborating with musical director Robert Ziegler who compiled a soundscape for the 16 minute show, and sound designer John Del'Nero who designed the audio system.

Ashton used material sourced from the British Library and also conducted a photo shoot at the Cathedral to capture all the architectural and structural elements he wanted to incorporate into the show.

The projection system utilized 7 x PIGI 6KW machines with double rotating scrollers, positioned at various distances around the Cathedral - the longest throw distance was 150 meters and the shortest just 20 meters. This was meticulously calculated to eliminate any shadowing from the numerous trees dotted around the Cathedral Gardens - and was also one of the major creative and technical challenges of the project.

The seven projectors were in six different positions, fitted with five different types of lens, ranging from a 10 cm wide-angle lens to an 85 cm long throw lens. The seven different positions each covered a separate zone of the cathedral's architecture.

The PIGI film scrolls were all approximately 15 metres in length, and the PIGI artwork was assembled and pre-corrected for perspective and keystoning in Photoshop. The show was programmed into E/T/C's PC-based OnlyCue controller and operated by Karen Monid. It featured some fabulously smooth movement dissolves, transitions and other subtleties for which the OnlyCue and PIGI combination is known and loved.

Ashton comments, "It was a huge honor to be asked to create and present this piece. Durham is one of the country's signature Cathedrals. It's a wonderful site with a fabulously rich history and is a very special location in which to work".

The E/T/C London crew of Richard Porter and Michael Barry started rigging the projectors on the Tuesday ready for a Thursday night opening. The PIGI's were all housed in custom weatherized sheilds also supplied by E/T/C.

This show - which ran eight times nightly, and the other Lumiere installations involving over 50 UK and international artists, proved a massive success, drawing up to 75,000 people into the city centee each evening despite some appalling weather. Collectively, they created an imaginative and stimulating environment for the enjoyment and engagement of people of all ages, interests and backgrounds.

The Festival of Light will now become a regular event for Durham. Ross Ashton is also designing projection artworks for the forthcoming St Andrew's Festival of Light in Scotland at the end of November, and has recently completed installations for the 2009 Pittsburg Festival of Light in the US and Rheinpartie 2009 in Germany. In January, he is presenting another special commission for the Closing Ceremony of Cambridge 800, an event that has celebrated the 800th anniversary of the University.

www.projecting.co.uk

Over 13,000 new church leaders at the recent Catalyst Conference in Atlanta’s Gwinnett Arena listened to over a dozen bands using the new Sennheiser SKM 2000 wireless vocal microphones.

For nearly a decade, The Catalyst Conference has been inspiring and guiding the next generation of church leaders. From a modest 1,500 attendees in its first year, the annual event has grown tremendously, with a capacity crowd of over 13,000 leaders packing into the Gwinnett Arena in Atlanta, Georgia for this year’s two-day event. Dustin Whitt mixed front-of-house for over a dozen bands in those two days, relying on four Sennheiser SKM 2000 wireless vocal mics, ten Sennheiser ew 300 IEM G3 wireless personal monitors, and a complete Sennheiser evolution 900 Series drum mic kit with MKH 8040s for overheads.

Whitt is the audio director at Buckhead Church in Atlanta, the nation’s third largest church (and gaining!) and co-founder of OwnTheMix.com, an online audio training solution for the modern church and winner of Worship Leader Magazine’s 2009 Editor’s Pick. The Sennheiser SKM 2000 advances the RF leader’s technology to deliver auto-tuning capability and ever-more robust RF performance. “Having previously demo’d a 2000 system, I fully expected that the SKM 2000 would be the perfect tool for this job,” says Whitt.

“What I didn’t expect,” he continues, “was to be so completely blown away by the MMK 965 condenser capsule. It seems to punch through a mix in the most pleasing way. It’s not harsh or painful in the least, but rather a perfect blend of clarity, presence and warmth.” Whitt observed that vocalists seldom get too excited about the gear they have to use, and their banter is usually about new bands or their favorite TV shows. But with four SKM 2000s with 965 capsules on stage, and over a dozen acts getting to use them, it was all the buzz. “Everyone was talking about that microphone like it was the latest hit single!” he laughs.

Much of the rest of the stage benefitted from Sennheiser wired and wireless technology. Everyone, except the drummer, used Sennheiser ew 300 IEM G3. For his signature drum sound, Whitt used Sennheiser e 901, e 902, and e 904 for close mic’ing and Sennheiser MKH 8040 cardioid condensers for overheads. “I used to mix-and-match my drum mics,” explains Whitt. “But ever since I went with the full Sennheiser package, everything sits together better. The mics are complementary in a way that makes the whole system work together with minimal tweaking.”

Whitt and his business partner, Chris Green, frequently recommend Sennheiser microphones and RF technology on OwnTheMix.com. “I always feel that Sennheiser mics and RF technology offer a lot of professionalism at a semi-pro price,” adds Witt. “The sound quality is excellent and the RF reliability is unmatched.”

www.sennheiserusa.com

The President and CEO of Shure Incorporated, Sandy LaMantia, today expressed the Company’s strong support for legislation recently introduced by Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL) that proposes to protect 13 different classes of wireless microphone users from interference that could result from the operation of new devices that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved for frequencies (known as the “white spaces”) currently occupied by wireless microphone users.

“Shure thanks and applauds Congressman Rush for his very thoughtful and balanced approach to the white spaces issue,” says LaMantia.  “New white space devices and wireless microphone users can certainly coexist in the white spaces if the new FCC policy reflects an appreciation for the different classes of wireless microphone users who deserve protection from interference.”

The Rush legislation, H.R. 4353, would require the FCC to provide access to an electronic database where wireless microphone users will register their frequencies, thereby protecting their operation from interference from signals transmitted from the newly approved white spaces devices.  The 13 classes of wireless microphone users in the Rush bill include amusement parks, arenas, convention centers, educational facilities, fairgrounds, government facilities, houses of worship, lodging facilities, museums, recording studios, restaurants, stadiums, and theaters. 

“Congressman Rush’s bill simply and comprehensively identifies the professional classes of wireless microphone use and calls for their protection from interference by new devices,” adds Mark Brunner, Shure’s Senior Director of Global Brand Management.  “The general public is often unaware how common wireless microphones have become in everyday American life.  This legislation spells it out and calls for continuity.”

www.shure.com