The Tattoo's projections were designed, as they have been for the last five years, by Ross Ashton and his new projection practice, The Projection Studio. Once again, Ashton conceived a show that utilised the full 90m width of the walls of Edinburgh Castle as a projection surface for images to complement the action taking place on the Esplanade below. The walls are covered by three of the projectors, with the fourth used to provide drop-in images around the castle gates, highlighting performers' entrances.
Working with the show's producer, Major General Euan Loudon, Ashton developed all of the imagery for the show, striving to create material that would look and feel totally different from last year's Tattoo. "There was a lot of projection in last year's show; this year I wanted to create something that would look and feel totally different and, naturally, be very relevant," says Ashton.
Particular highlights in this year's show included sequences for You Raise Me Up and Here's To The Heroes performed by the Massed Band, for which Ashton created a series of moving montages using images from the Army Media & Communications Archive, and a Maori mask fitted exactly to the castle's architecture so that the entranceway became the mouth, for a section performed by the New Zealand Army's band.
The Edinburgh Tattoo is just one of the many shows and events that have showcased the dramatic possibilities of the PIGI projection system, PIGI projection also having been a highlight of public events including the Queen's Golden Jubilee and the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War 2 (both projects involving projection onto the front of Buckingham Palace), the 800th Anniversary of Cambridge University, and New Year's Eve in London.
(Jim Evans)
