LONDON – The European premiere for Star Wars: The Force Awakens took place in London on Dec. 26. 2015. with Utopium lit up Nelson’s Column, a monument in Trafalgar Square, during the red carpet event. Utopium provided 24 Clay Paky Mythos, three MDG One atmosphere machines, four Studio Due City-color LED’s and two Studio Due City-beams.
More details from Utopium (www.utopium.co.uk):
Thousands of dedicated fans flocked to London to celebrate the latest instalment in the Star Wars franchise, where Stormtroopers and Jedi knights joined the cast and celebrities for the biggest premiere of the year.
Utopium illuminated London’s celebrated landmark, Nelsons Column to transform it into a giant lightsaber which lit up the city’s skyline. Utopium provided 24 Clay Paky Mythos, three MDG One atmosphere machines, four Studio Due City-color LED’s and two Studio Due City-beam’s to create this fitting spectacle.
In Leicester Square, the cast and crew were joined by celebrity guests as the area was transformed into a space-themed venue befitting this colossal event. Utopium installed 120 tons of ballast weight to stabilize the 26 masts supporting 175m of 52cm ST header truss, from which the lighting, 10 x 29m3 video walls supplied by VER, and over 1,000m3 of black wool serge drapes were rigged. The black drape, which masked the background, worked to create a visually stunning effect on the red carpet.
LED lighting illuminated the entire length of the red carpet, the Empire and Odeon Cinemas and the stage set where the world’s media captured the stars. To achieve this, Utopium provided 68 SGM P5s, 12 SGM P2s, 8 SGM Q7, the effects were achieved using 50 Chauvet 230 SR Beams, 24 Chauvet RH1s, 12 MAC 2K Wash’s, and 12 Chauvet 412Z’s.
The installation was designed and project managed by Utopium’s Colin Bodenham, who comments, “This was such a spectacular premiere to work on and we are proud to have been contracted to provide the lighting and rigging for this prestigious event. Star Wars is all about dynamics and future tech which gave us great scope to be creative. Illuminating the 52m high Nelson’s Column to create a giant lightsaber the moment the premiere ended was a unique finale to the evening.”
