Dressed
Most of us tend to think of England’s King Henry VIII as a rotund monarch with a fondness for food and a habit of doing away with his wives. But in “Dressed To Kill,” a remarkable new exhibition at The Tower of London with AV support from Electrosonic, the public is introduced to a virile young Henry who’s the action hero of his day.
Part propaganda, part fashion, the exhibition conveys the power, majesty, wealth and psychology of the man, the icon and the king – who always ensured he was “Dressed to Kill.” Marking the 500th anniversary of Henry’s accession to the throne, “Dressed To Kill” presents the most extensive gathering of the king’s arms and armor ever held in the UK. Assembled from major collections around the world, some of the artifacts have never been displayed in the UK before. The exhibition, which occupies three floors of the White Tower and runs from April 3, 2009 to January 17, 2010, uses advanced technology to display the armor and 21st century photographic, video and scanning techniques to show the fine detail, intricate construction and beautiful decoration of the artifacts.
Electrosonic designed and installed the exhibition’s AV system which features four projected images, a plasma display and multi-channel ambient audio to interpret and enhance the exhibits.
On the first floor Electrosonic installed two Standard Definition Adtec Edie video players that source two Projection Design F30 projectors. The video players run in frame sync and are linked to a lighting program. Ambient audio from MP3 players supplied by Electrosonic helps animate the gallery.
The exhibition’s second floor houses two Panasonic PT-D3500E projectors fed by Blade High Definition players which display a sequence about Henry VIII’s life and selected footage from a History Channel program. Elsewhere in “Dressed To Kill” Electrosonic provided a plasma monitor showing an HD video about the royal game of tennis invented in Henry’s time.
“Dressed To Kill” was designed by Studio MB of Edinburgh for Historic Royal Palaces and built by Paragon Creative. AV production was done by ISO, audio design by Peter Key and lighting design by Nich Smith.
At Electrosonic Stuart Paton was project manager and Douglas Bolton salesman. The company’s engineering team consisted of engineer Christ Ostler, commissioning engineer James Griffiths and programmer Paul Haughey.
About Electrosonic
Electrosonic is a worldwide audio-visual company that operates in three ways: as a systems integrator, as a product manufacturer, and as a service provider for AV facilities. Founded in 1964, Electrosonic has always been among the first to apply new technology to create tailored, state-of-the-art solutions that meet the challenges of the professional AV market.
Electrosonic’s system integration business has a strong reputation for working on complex projects, both large and small, and has through its 45 year history developed lasting partnerships with customers and suppliers. Electrosonic brings a unique breadth of experience to each project; backed by solid engineering skills, project management and quality production facilities. Beyond complete integrated systems, Electrosonic can provide a wide range of services including consultancy, technical design, maintenance, lamp leasing and operational support.
