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West
London based Entec Lighting
is supplying equipment
for the phenomenally successful
Doctor Who exhibition.
This is currently in residence
at the Red Dragon Centre
in Cardiff, returning
to its regional roots
after a\n initial launch
and 6 month stint on Brighton’s
Palace Pier, celebrating
the Doctor’s much
anticipated return to
TV screens in the new
2005 series. |
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| Entec
was contacted by Martin Wilkie
from Experience Design Management
Ltd the production company licensed
by the BBC to operate Doctor
Who exhibitions and activities
worldwide. In addition to the
lighting kit, Entec also supplied
technician Niall Hannell to
rig and programme the exhibition.
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The
exhibition features a
wide selection of monsters
and villains – including
the legendary Daleks -
and a host of original
props and costumes, designs
and video clips from the
new 2005 series starring
Christopher Eccleston
and Billie Piper. Wilkie
was keen to present it
in a theatrical, dramatic
and visually stimulating
way, and that’s
why he wanted to use a
lighting company experienced
in shows and events. |
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| The
transfer to Cardiff saw the
exhibition transformed and fitted
into a completely different
space, which in turn mean a
redesign and a re-light –
undertaken for Entec by Hannell,
who explains “I was given
a basic generic brief and then
left to get on with lighting
the show as I thought fit”..
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Working with an expediently
sized lighting rig,
each fixture has to
be precisely positioned.
The 14 moving lights
- eight 575 Spots and
six 575 Washes are multi-functional
and are worked particularly
hard. They are strategically
positioned on ground
supported trusses and
have to move and throw
effects and illumination
into several different
areas of the exhibition
from their one optimum
rigging point.
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Apart
from these, each specific exhibit
has either a Source Four profile
or PAR key light, and Entec
also supplied some Thomas MR16
‘Birdie’ battens.
The Dalek section, for example,
has its own Source Four PAR
key-light and is also illuminated
with a series of gobo effects
and textured lighting from the
moving lights positioned elsewhere
in the room. |
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All the lighting is
programmed onto an Avolites
Azure console which
runs the whole show
all day and is proving
ideal for the job, says
Hannell.. He programmed
a series of chase sequences
for each area which
are run as different
‘environments’
on the Azure, and the
whole desk is operating
via its scheduler. It
just needs powering
up and down each day
and sorts itself and
everything else out
from there.
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| Entec
has supplied two new Jands Hub
24 dimmer/distro units –
offering a 12 channel dimmer
and 12 channels of 16A hard
power outlets in the one box
- which are also perfect for
this application. |
| Martin
Wilkie says “The
exhibition relies on very
good lighting and the
maximisation of a small
but well designed rig
to highlight all the creatures,
monsters and other pieces,
adding a real element
of tension and excitement.
It had to be really theatrical
on one hand, and also
keep doing day-in-day-out
for 6 months, so the quality
of the installation and
reliability of the fixtures
chosen was vitally important.
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The
service from Entec has been
excellent, and all the hard
work has been reflected in the
figures”. The exhibition
has attracted over 100,000 people
in its first two months in Cardiff
alone. |
| Doctor Who
logo © BBC 2004. Dalek image
©BBC/Terry Nation 1963. Licensed
by BBC Worldwide Ltd.
DOCTOR WHO, TARDIS and
DALEK and the DOCTOR WHO, TARDIS
and DALEK logos are trademarks
of the British Broadcasting
Corporation and are used under
license.
BBC
copyright logo remains the same
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