Projection Mapping Liverpool's Cathedrals

"I wanted to express our huge gratitude for the incredible work you and the Adlib team did for #LightNightatHome. From start to finish, it was a joy working with you. We pulled this together in 2 weeks instead of the usual 10 months programming, and it was your foresight that saw the opportunity to create huge projections, working alongside Draw & Code, onto our two Cathedrals. The photos of the projections were astonishing and just as we hoped, securing great press and social media coverage, including the cover of the Liverpool Echo.”

- Charlotte Corrie, Director, Open Culture

The Requirement

Photo Credit: Pete Carr

LightNight is Liverpool’s one-night arts festival – a time for visitors of all ages to come along and see the city in a new light with everything from large-scale light projections and live music to workshops and spoken word taking place across the city centre.

Due to the COVID-19, the 2020 festival was postponed indefinitely.

LightNight organisers, Open Culture, reached out to artists and suppliers asking them to mark the occasion that would have been LightNight 2020 with online content—a chance to highlight and celebrate artistic work and activities that can be effective online.

With a long history working with both of Liverpool’s cathedrals, we’d already been in contact with them to discuss the possibility of using projection and lighting on the exterior of the buildings to raise awareness and show support for key workers and the emergency services. Tying this project in with LightNight was a perfect opportunity.

The Solution

We have deep experience providing technical expertise, equipment, and logistics for complex video and lighting designs and then work with partners to create exceptional video content. Having worked with Draw & Code on numerous projection mapping projects in the past (including the popular Terracotta Warriors exhibition), we asked them to join the team for LightNight.

Working in this collaborative way means our clients get access to best-in-class design and technical delivery, and best-in-class content. It’s still easy for the client as they have Adlib as a single point of contact.

Aside from getting the creative right, the single biggest challenge on this project was working safely and with appropriate social distancing measures in place.
We’ve worked closely with our safety consultants to complete risk assessments and design safe working practices that allow us to deliver our services in a Covid-secure environment. The extends from the warehouse to our on-site work.

We supplied lighting, projection and control systems with Draw & Code producing the content for projection.

For the Metropolitan Cathedral we used 2 x Panasonic DZ21k projectors to cover the steps and front of the cathedral. The Control and playback system was Resolume and this also handled the projection blend.

For the Anglican Cathedral we used 3 x Panasonic RZ21k projectors to provide coverage for the Rankin Porch and 7 x Aryton Boras to create the Rainbow effect for the spire.

The Result

Our knowledge of both buildings was key in allowing us to combine our design and technical expertise with Draw & Code’s content to create maximum impact.
We have always had a fantastic relationship with all parties involved and it was great to work on a project with them and collectively make a big statement of thanks and support.

The activation led to the Anglican Cathedral’s Twitter account achieving its best ever reach!

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