Nina and the Knifedge team provided a spectacle of multi-dimensional projection integrated with live action and spatial surround sound to introduce Wella’s four new trends for 2011 at the ITVA in Paris, an event organized and produced by Jack Morton Worldwide.
Working with Kim Gavin (Choreography), Richard Knight (Lighting), David Brown (Sound), David Hearn (Composer), Adam Doherty and Charlotte Duffin (Producers) and with James Cooksey deftly programming and operating Catalyst, audiences were treated to a conceptual display of the essence of the four key looks for the coming year preceding the catwalk shows showcasing the looks.
Later that day, the show continued with the Young Talent and Colour competitions, for which the Knifedge team provided audio-reactive visuals and bold flag sequences for the competing countries.
Nina has provided ‘illuminations’ for an evening to celebrate the arrival of the first illuminated Bible created in 500 years at St Martin in the Fields. She brought to life seven of the key images created by Donald Jackson that appear in the Bible, using the architecture of the church and the east window as a canvas.
Having just opened Cleopatra, it’s onwards and upwards with preparations for ‘Emperor and Galilean’ to open at the National Theatre in June and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for the Mariinsky in July.
Golden Mask nominations and DVD release for the Mariinsky production of Strauss’ Opera “Die Frau Ohne Schatten”
Nina has returned from Russia, where the Mariinsky Theatre was shooting a DVD of the opera “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” for which she design projections last year. It has just been announced that the Opera has also been nominated for a number of Golden Mask Awards this season. Read more here.
St John’s Bible Celebration – St Martin in the Fields
Nina has provided ‘illuminations’ for an evening to celebrate the arrival of the first illuminated Bible created in 500 years at St Martin in the Fields. She brought to life seven of the key images created by Donald Jackson that appear in the Bible, using the architecture of the church and the east window as a canvas.
Armstrong & Miller – Mick Perrin
Nina has designed video & projections for Armstrong & Miller’s upcoming tour, working with Knifedge to create the content.
Anthony & Cleopatra - NBT
Nina is talking to the team at the NBT with a view to creating projections for their new ballet telling the story of Anthony & Cleopatra.
Working with Anna Efremova, Nina provided projection consultancy and created content for the VE Day Commemoration Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
The show was in aid of the Red Cross and featured a host of stars from the UK and from Russia in one mammoth evening.
Pictures and video to follow but in the meantime, you can find out more here:
Visual Design & Projection Content Production by Knifedge: The Creative Network
Projection Design – Nina Dunn for Knifedge
Set design – Ellan Parry for Knifedge.
The tour opened successfully on 16th April at Brighton’s Theatre Royal with a great audience and happy teams all round. To see the highlights video, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Following the press night in Bromley, the show has received three stars from both the Guardian and the Times. Of course, the show’s not about the video and set, but here’s what the Times had to say:
“The costume changes are commendably snappy, covered up by an inventive series of video inserts on the giant TV screen buried upstage.”
“On tour, Brand uses video inserts projected on a dinky mock-up of a TV set to entertain the audience while she is offstage, a device that’s used to enterprising comedic effect.”
“The set is a big cartoon television [...] which holds a screen within it for projections. This clever technology allows Katy to talk to the screen and interact with it. Knifedge Creative Network’s Nina Dunn has designed and directed the production of content – everything from the opening titles through to filming Katy’s characters against green screen for Katy to interact with live on stage. A high point has Katy’s Lily Allen on stage talking to three other Lily Allens on screen. It’s a very ambitious show in terms of costume changes – such as from Lady Gaga to the Queen in less than 30 seconds – but these are managed flawlessly with film sequences maintaining the interest level during the changes.”
“[...] the characters which got the greatest laughs – had the audience near enough rolling in the aisles, in fact – were her own inventions. The stoned nun who couldn’t keep a straight face, in an astonishingly clever move, taps into that hideous human instinct which forces laughter when you least should. Yet more amusing is Captain Rosie Fielding, the viciously feminist, butch soldier recruiting women to her blokeish, peeing-standing-up ways, who culminates her speech with a ludicrous rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’.
It is likely that these two hugely subversive, outrageous and crude characters were the reason Mr and Mrs Bailhalfwaythrough didn’t return. What they missed was Brand herself and her own intelligence and wit shining through. Yes, what I had seen of Ms Brand on TV was correct. Her characters are every bit as raw, cringeworthy and downright detestable as I expected. But as the show wore on I caught a glimpse of an incredibly versatile and imaginative comedian who is unafraid to push boundaries.
To give her time to switch costumes and characters, Katy stitches together her skits with films of her characters on a giant TV screen. Some of these videos are so convincing and cleverly woven into the show that you could believe that her Lilly Allen actually does go through a door on the stage and into the screen, or that a pre-recorded anchorwoman is responding live to Brand’s news reporter ad-libbing with the audience.
At the end of the day I can only admire a woman who can endure as much time with characters this hideous as she must have done to craft this smart piece of theatre.”
Working with Knifedge, Nina designed and produced projection content for surfaces including two helium balloons and four circular floor mats for the Opening ceremony of theIAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha.
Eight projectors were used in total with content linked between the mats and between the front and back of the heliospheres.
Here is the main projection section, starting with the landing of the aerialists. Once docked, we then used the heliospheres as projection surfaces for a variety of additional items of content supporting the opening ceremony activity.
Nina was commissioned by Hermès to transform an outdoor interior courtyard at Paris’ Musée de La Chasse into a fantasy underwater environment for their private event on 15th March 2010. Sound design by Thierry Planelle.
Projected worlds at the Russian Premiere of Richard Strauss’
“Die Frau Ohne Schatten”.
Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg
Jonathan Kent – Director:
“[...]how really thrilling and evocative the projections were. [...]you gave us a really rich, dream-like, complex
visual narrative.”
Nina co-designed projections for the Opera “Die Frau Ohne Schatten”, that opened at the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg in November 2009. This challenging opera in three acts is rarely performed since not only are there five major lead roles, which few opera companies can find within their resources, but also the libretto specifies numerous special effects that are very hard to realise successfully on stage.
Nina’s approach to video in Theatre as an integrated part of the spectacle was very much in line with the Director and Designer’s desire for the opera, who had planned to include projection from an early stage. The result was a show with not just special effects at key moments but an interwoven visual language that supported all the other elements of the opera throughout – musical and narrative.
The piece requires a demarcation of two contrast-ing worlds – fantasy and reality. Video elements within the scenes and ‘journey’ sequences between the worlds illustrate this. While the real world’s imagery remains more literal, that of the fantasy world is highly stylised; it is a place where set pieces can come alive and the air stirs with magic.
The two worlds also represent positive and negative spaces that eventually crossed over, highlighted in a play-off of negative and positive silhouettes, which also bring to light the theme of the shadow as an entity. Water and dye are also key elements in the opera and many of the sequences were inspired by the movement and nature of fluid, using footage shot especially for the show.
The projection rig consisted of 4 Barco DML 1200 moving head projectors and one Christie 20K projector.
In April 2011, the Opera was awarded two Golden Mask Awards: one for ‘Best Opera Production’ and one for Paul Brown as ‘Best Opera Production Designer’
