AC-ET helps bring Waddesdon Manor to life

Using Christie projectors and Green Hippo media servers in a video system facilitated by AC-ET, the vast, animated show was produced by Luminisms parent company YES Events and featured content designed by artist Jamie Shiels.

The ornate Grade 1 listed manor house, built in the 19th century for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, is now owned by the National Trust, and is one of its most visited properties. Following the 2022 Christmas season, Waddesdon’s managers approached their regular partner, the long-experienced Luminism, and asked them to bring Waddesdon Manor ‘to life’ for the following year.

“They wanted to tell a story – to add a touch of magic,” says Stuart Burdett, who led AC-ET’s support for Luminism throughout the production.

With almost a year to plan, Luminism was able to work closely with AC-ET to carry out a detailed and thorough preparation, including testing of hardware, streamlining of workflows, equipment specification and product training.

Burdett says, “Unlike many events of this type, this particular project had time on its side. Among other things, this meant that Luminism could work closely with AC-ET to complete an onsite projector test.”

While Luminism already owned stocks of Christie projectors and Green Hippo media servers, the onsite projection study demonstrated that more projectors, with more powerful output, were needed to adequately cover the wide façade. Because of the architectural complexity of the building, it was also an opportunity for AC-ET to help Luminism to incorporate Green Hippos SHAPE software, which offers a complete 3D projection-mapping toolkit, into their workflow for the first time. To do so, AC-ET and Green Hippo provided essential server training to Luminism’s technical team, which was headed by Adam Nicholls and included Charlie Herbert and YES Events’ director, Tom Chennells, who played a pivotal role in liaising with the various stakeholders.

An existing 3D laser scan file of Waddesdon Manor was imported into the SHAPE software to aid the team’s choices of projector locations and lenses.

“Using Green Hippo’s SHAPE software meant we were able to vastly reduce the time needed on-site,” confirms Burdett.

“AC-ET’s approach extended beyond recommendations,” says Nicholls, “as they enabled us to arrange test shoots on site which proved crucial in reassuring us and the client that the system not only met but exceeded the project’s specifications.”

The final system, supplied by AC-ET, employed 11 of Christie Digital Systems’ DWU23-HS laser projectors, with various zoom lenses. This investment made sense for Luminism as the lenses are compatible with its existing stock of H Series projectors. To make the most of the HS projectors’ excellent colour performance and the grand scale of the canvas itself, they also chose to upgrade their existing Green Hippo media servers to two Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2s. The powerful SHAPE toolset within the Hippotizers allows for the UV-mapped content to be unwrapped in a 3D environment: each projector can then be positioned with pixel-perfect accuracy, either at the Boreal+ or remotely at the projector positions.

Also employed were Datapath FX4-HDR video wall controllers which split each Boreal+ signal, and an MX2 standalone matrix switcher from Lightware Visual Engineering, providing fast switching between the main server and the backup. Lastly, Lightware fibre transmitters and receivers extended the high-quality HDMI 2.0 video signal to each of the three projection towers.

Nicholls comments: “The service and support provided by AC-ET for this project have been brilliant, and Stuart, in particular, played a key role in its success. His technical insights and knowledge were invaluable in navigating the project’s complexities.”