The New Year's Eve celebrations in London featured more than 1200 fireworks and 420 lights, illuminating the capital's iconic Ferris wheel, the London Eye. Lighting fixtures included Chauvet Professional Strike M, Ayrton Cobra and Mamba, Robe iFORTE LTX, SGM P10, hazebase, and three grandMA3s.
- Projection/Hologram Effects: Holotronica and Pixel Artworks
- Lighting Design: Tim Routledge and Programming/Associate Design Morgan Evans
- Vendor Lights Control Rigging
- Production: Identity Global
- Fireworks Design and Operation: Titanium Fireworks
The 12-minute show took place in front of 10,000 ticket holders on the banks of the Thames, but the view for the millions watching the live broadcast at home was slightly different. Using Hologauze® from Holotronica, the center of the London Eye featured holographic images without blocking the view through the spokes of the wheel.
The animations included the initial countdown to midnight, a message from beloved national icon, Paddington Bear, a nod to Britain's Olympic medal winners from last summer's games, images to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and the Union flag.
Live Design: Holotronica was born in 2014 – was there a specific gap in the market that you were trying to address?
Stuart Warren-Hill: I had been wanting to create a Hologram effect for many years as part of my audio-visual VJ work. Firstly, as Hexstatic and then as Holotronica. I discovered the Pepper’s ghost method through a company called Musion back in 2006. While I was making my Holotronica 3D AV album I collaborated with Musion and won the Musion Academy Awards in 2009 presenting my AV performance on stage with their Eyeliner system. I soon realized the cost of this system was prohibitive for most of the events I was doing so I embarked on creating Hologauze®. It was much cheaper and easier to install than the complicated Pepper’s ghost foil set up. My Holotronica Album is Stereoscopic 3D and Hologauze works amazingly well using 3D or 2D projection systems as well as being incredibly transparent, invisible to the eye under correct lighting conditions.
Hologauze® was launched in September 2014 in the Lord of the Dance show, London Palladium and Eric Prydz Epic3 at Madison Square Garden NYC USA. Because it was the first product of its kind, we have an amazing client list including Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Eurovision, and Whitney Houston.
LD: Can you tell us the product used for the London New Year’s Eve celebrations and describe the scope of work?
SWH: Over the last few years we have worked with various companies the use Hologauze® in a new way, ‘Forced Perspective’ its rather like a cross between Hologram effects and video mapping. It allows for the illusion of video mapping a very large building or structure without there cost of covering it all with Hologauze® and projecting on it. Generally though Hologauze is used in a wide range of productions from large arena tours, Theatre productions, product launches, trade shows, museums, art galleries etc.I assume screen and rigging but was Holotronica responsible for any of the content or control?
LD: The screen was used to add images for the television audience only, the live audience were able to see through it. International audiences saw this product used by the Australian entry in Eurovision 2016. How does this work?
SWH: We worked on this project with Pixel Artworks whom we have worked with in the past on large mapping projects. We manufactured the Hologauze® screen to the dimensions required. Pixel Artworks set up an enclosure on the opposite side of the river with a 5.55m x 3.57m Hologauze® screen fitted to the front of the enclosure projected onto using a Panasonic RQ35 video projector. A fixed camera is then filming from the back of the enclosure through the Hologauze® and lined up with the projected graphic so it appears to be overlaid onto the London Eye. This effect has also been done on the arch of Wembley Stadium and Tower Bridge to great effect but never done on Live TV. Sadly, the drone show was canceled due to high winds so the Hologauze and London Eye illusion was the main focus along with the amazing fireworks.
LD: Does your product require a particular media server or control, or can it be used with any brand/type?
SWH: Hologauze can be used with standard video projectors and and playback system and any resolution. Content is made in a certain way to enhance the magical floating in air effect. We can create content here at Holotronica as well as do the full installation if required. Pixel artworks were responsible for the installation for New Year's Eve.
LD: How sustainable are your products?
SWH: Hologauze is made in England creating a low carbon footprint. We have also developed the Holoporter® which is a portable Hologram FX pod which could be used to transport people as realtime avatars to any part of the world. Holoporter® is made possible because of our new game changing product DarkMat® light cancelling system. This floor tile cancels 95% of light allowing us to create hologram FX in a smaller area fixing the issues with this kind of effect. All of our products are manufactured locally in Somerset and City of Bristol.
LD: Do you have a new products coming in 2025?
SWH: Yes! Keep an eye out over the next few months on our website Holotronica.com. Sorry I cant say more..