DRONE TECHNOLOGY
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For Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2020, drones lit up the night sky as deer springing over the mountaintops
Capturing this as its first show proved a huge undertaking, due to not having previously operated in that kind of environment. “Getting out into the countryside and up into those specific landscapes was a practical challenge,” admits Winter. “What we learned from this was that, if we’re to be effective in using the sky as a canvas, skyline is as important as the drones themselves because the two marry quite beautifully – whether it be in the city, a mountain terrain or a sports ground. The Hogmanay show was our way in, giving it the wow factor people expect for that time of year.” Ultimately, creating a drone show is a combination of an artistic vision and technical precision. “We always start with a general concept,” explains Winter. “Then we have to work out how we’re going to tell that story, starting with the script. Our designers create intricate animations that bring the stories to life, and there’s often also a narrator whose role is to propel the story forward. “Once our animators have designed a full set of images for the content, these
we gradually increased it – and now we’re at 45 to 50 minutes. You have to work incredibly hard to keep people’s attentions – it’s not enough to just have the show, the events should also offer good food, beverages and other draws, like nice locations.” A STAR IS BORN Celestial’s first drone show was recorded for the Hogmanay New Year celebrations during lockdown. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the display consisted of hundreds of drones. The vision was to create stags that would move through the mountainous landscape. The show not only provided a sense of inspiration when people most needed it, but also helped put Celestial onto the world stage. For the celebrations, Celestial worked alongside Underbelly, a major partner of Edinburgh Festival. The goal was to break away from traditional firework displays and highlight the beauty and landscape of the Scottish hillside, telling a unique story that was engaging and representative of the location.
“Together we decide on the title or story that we want to tell,” he adds. “I write the script, determine the tone of the audio and musical score and then direct the overall creative vision. It’s a project management, producer-type role too. I collaborate with our team – made up of animators, designers, musical composers and pilots – to bring the performances to life in a way that is able to capture the imagination of the audience.” With his background in theatre, Winter is no stranger to finding new ways to captivate audiences. “At shows like ours, or other kinds of immersive displays, expectations from the audience are now high. Theatre took a real hit from Covid-19; by my observation, audiences are still just returning to pre-pandemic sizes. Attendance behaviours and attention spans have changed too. “We’ve had to test our model pretty thoroughly. For example, how long do people want to have that experience for? There isn’t really anything that drone light shows can be compared to either. Maybe an outdoor concert, although it’s a very different experience. “We started off making our shows around eight minutes in duration, then We learned that, to be effective, the skyline is just as important as the drones themselves; the two marry quite beautifully”
WATCH ME See a trailer for this colourful Wonderful Wizard of Oz display
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