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The latest in Future Cinema’s season of Secret
Cinema events proved to be the largest and most ambitious screening
yet as the David Lean epic, Lawrence of Arabia, was shown at
Alexander Palace in early September to an audience of five thousand
people. Lighting hire and sales company, Point Source Productions,
and lighting designer, Jono Kenyon, had only a matter of days to
make it happen.
Secret Cinema events operate by providing a creative, immersive
experience for its audiences in which to view the film – on this
occasion shown for the first time on 35mm in a departure from the
customary digital format and with multiple viewings over several
days. The film and location are announced at very short notice and
audiences frequently dress in a manner in keeping with the film.
Secret Cinema’s style is to create settings and characters, rather
than replicate scenes, from the film. The Lawrence of Arabia
experience began in the park where guests were held at the foot of
the hill and entertained by colourfully dressed actors, before being
led by a cavalry charge up the hill to Alexandra Palace.
Within the Palace itself, the West Hall, Palm Court, West Corridor
and the Great Hall were transformed into scenarios representative of
the film.
The challenge for Kenyon was to provide a full design and supply
package - including power for all catering, projection and sound and
all decorative, feature and scene lighting, distribution and control
- to each of these areas, at very short notice and over a Bank
Holiday weekend. Once more, Kenyon called upon Point Source
Productions to provide the equipment he needed.
The Palm Court area was dressed as the British Head Quarters; the
West Corridor featured a small cinema showing film shorts. The West
Hall was transformed into an authentic market of over thirty stalls
selling olives, herbs, spices and exotic goods, catering to the
massive audience for 2 hours before the start of the film. Lighting
within the stalls was provided by Birdies and festoon lighting, with
general cover from bars of six Parcans and Source Four Pars, and 5kw
fresnels with scrollers. The lighting design also marked the passage
of time throughout the evening, beginning with bright daylight and
transforming to a night market by the time the audience emerged at
the end of the film.
Alexandra Palace’s iconic Great Hall acted as the screening room
with the audience seated on the floor. Ten tons of sand were brought
in to create dunes through which Lawrence makes his entrance on
camel-back prior to the start of the film. Kenyon’s lighting brief
was to provide an expansive ‘epic’ feel to this area, giving the
illusion of the sun and heat of the desert. This he did using big
swathes of single source light and shadow created by a rig composed
almost entirely of 5kW Bambino and Leonardo Fresnels with Rainbow
colour scrollers and a 4kW HMI Fresnel projecting through the rose
window to represent the point source of the sunlight.
 All lighting was rigged on free-standing truss from Outback Rigging
in order to protect the fabric of this historic building.
“The surprise element of Secret Cinema’s events means that
instructions tend to arrive very close to the event date,” says
Kenyon. “The fun part is not knowing where the event will take place
or what the film will be …and then having to react quickly!”
“At Point Source Productions we understand, and work closely with,
our clients which means we are ready to adapt our working processes
to facilitate their requirements at short notice,” says Point Source
Productions MD, Stephen Capel, “even on large scale projects like
this one.”
The next mystery event from Secret Cinema takes place early next
year ‘somewhere in London’ – Point Source Productions are standing
by…
Photo Credits: Mike Massaro & Alex Bougrine
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