Visuals-for-events masters Bluman Associates delivered out-of-this-world projections onto the giant Lovell Telescope at the first ever ‘Live from Jodrell Bank’ festival in Cheshire – Transmission 001.
Working with Production Company Ear to the Ground and event production manager Charlie Canavan, Transmission 001 featured headliners, The Flaming Lips and took place in the shadow of the towering Lovell Telescope in Cheshire.
The giant dish, which has been probing deep space for over 50 years in search of alien life, became an epic interstellar projection screen and backdrop to a unique performance by the cult band.
Canavan comments: “This gig was always going to be remembered for the projection and I was charged with making sure that it was for all the right reasons. Unusually the projection played a staring role in the overall creative concept of the event rather than being something that complements it. There was therefore considerable pressure to get it right from the outset and we were all delighted with the results. Pod and his team couldn’t have done a better job!”
Also in the line up were British Sea Power, okgo, Wave Machine and Alice Gold. Perhaps because of the current popular fascination with science the event completely sold out in just 11 days. The huge success of this test Transmission Event, where music met science, has ensured that six 5000+ capacity events will take place in 2012.
For Bluman Associates the challenge was to provide the ambitious projection element. “Our job was to project the images and film, created by content creators Digital Insanity, in such a way that they would fill the dish of the giant Lovell Telescope, explains managing director of Bluman Associates, Pod Bluman.
No mean feat when you consider that when the Lovell Telescope was built in 1955, it was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world, measuring in at an astonishing 76.2 m (250 ft) in diameter.
“We were very excited when we were asked to project onto such an iconic structure. However this feeling increased tenfold when we actually saw the dish! I think it was only then that we fully appreciated the scale of what we had been asked to do,” continues Bluman.
Creating a bright enough image while at the same time covering the entire dish surface was Bluman’s biggest challenge. “We only had one opportunity to get everything set-up and working the night before – there were no second chances!”
However Bluman needn’t have worried; the 5000 strong audience was totally captivated by the stunning array of live and recorded images that played out on the world famous Telescope near Manchester.
“Ultimately what was great about the show was that the headliners – The Flaming Lips – bought into the whole concept 100%,” enthuses Bluman. “Flaming Lips front man Wayne Coyne Introduced the three minute video with an enthusiasm that greatly enhanced the impact of the whole show – it could not have worked out any better!”
To achieve the desired effect Bluman and his team used six Christie S+20k projectors in two stacks of three. Identical images were overlaid, one on top of each other in the dish to deliver the brightness required.
Dedicating a song to the festival organisers Flaming Lips front man Coyne urged: “Have us back. This is our place, you know.” As the band retreated ahead of its encore, the Lovell Telescope took centre stage as a short film was played out on its surface. Images flashed up of space and of Dr Lovell calling out “Hello Moon,” and hearing it bounce back as he tested his creation followed by the rousing theme of 2001: A Space Odyssey – it was a spine tingling event.
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