The final show has taken over three years to complete. Since 23 December 2005, 31 buildings located on either side of Victoria Harbour, have blossomed nightly into a dazzling display of visual firepower. The 11-minute show of 2004 has now become a 17-minute performance, with a kaleidoscope of effects including almost 15,000 dynamic lighting fixtures, Stella Ray YAGS producing thousands of high powered laser beams, world class pyrotechnics and a sound simulcast which is not only broadcast from popular viewing locations including ferries travelling to and from the city, but can also be dialled into via mobile phone. The nightly show is programmed and coordinated via the Internet through Laservision's Digital Data-Pump II show control systems which have been installed in all of the major buildings.
The Circle of Light storylineDespite evolving wealth and prosperity, Hong Kong has never lost its sense of cultural identity or its proud Chinese heritage. The show encapsulates this tradition through the use of 'lucky' Chinese red and gold colours. The Circle of Light commences as the individual buildings rise from their birth, before growing into the prosperous and rich metropolis Hong Kong is today. In what resembles a grand orchestra, the lighting effects enable the buildings to harmonise with certain Chinese instruments that help make up the simulcast. While the city has always been renowned for its remarkable structures, it is only now that this architecture has been harmonised in such a unified and defining manner.
Star BuildingsTo choose the most suitable buildings in a city as overwhelming as Hong Kong is a consuming process, which involved the Laservision team individually examining each building from a variety of angles and popular viewing locations. The most prominent viewing location was from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, located directly opposite the city. A priority list of highly visible structures that presented well was then compiled, and the list was fleshed out into studies on the form, texture and architectural merit of each of the structures.
The Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) building, which graced L&SI's cover in March 2004, has incorporated 716 intelligent lights, including 450 colour changing fluorescent fixtures in its glass stairwells, Martin Exterior 600 and 200 fixtures on five levels, eight searchlights and over one kilometre of LED lighting around the top of the building.
Although Victoria Harbour is a great setting for fireworks, it is a significantly larger body of water than most other harbours that Laservision has conducted projects on or around. Consequently, the displays are viewed from a greater distance than would be the case at the other venues, which diminishes the scale of the effects. To combat this potential problem, the number of buildings incorporating fireworks was increased.
Lasers and searchlights have been incorporated into the Harbour Lighting Plan to increase the use of airborne special effects. The high powered 50W Stella-Ray lasers enable animated beams of light to span the harbour, connecting the audience on the Tsim Sha Tsui with the show opposite them. Many implementation issues had to be overcome with the Aviation Department, Fire Department, Hong Kong Police and the Marine Department before Laservision could incorporate lasers and fireworks into the scheme.
Control & SecurityLaservision's Digital Data-Pump II (DDP) provided the technical solution for the show. The DDP II sys
