Tuesday 30 December 2014
Symphony of lights in Hong-Kong! By Benoit Glénat & Foucauld de Cromières
> What is a "son & lumière"?
> The brightest city
> The brightest city
Every night at 8 p.m. in Victoria Harbour, Hong-Kong, you can see a
gorgeous, a wonderful show, which is unique in the world. This event is called
the “Symphony of lights”. It is the world´s largest daily show of light and
sound. It uses more than 40 buildings on both sides of the harbour. For 13 minutes, the bay is filled with a multitude of colourful lights.
Our press team has chosen to describe this ceremony to mark the 2015 International
Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.
Since 17th January 2004, it’s been possible to contemplate the suns of
the night, the famous and amazing nightly multimedia spectacle of the island of
Hong-Kong. Over 2,000 lighting techniques have
been used, including search lights, halo light systems, flood lights, spot
lights, special effect lights, lasers, optic fibre and 2500 LEDs, far more than
you could possibly count! While
the lights from the buildings light up the sky with myriad vivid colours, an especially
composed soundtrack is audible from the Promenade of Stars, just across the
harbour. The music and narration can be heard also by radio or on mobile
phones. The city is in a total party state for 13 minutes! Moreover, the show
is free and no admission ticket is required. So, if you want to have a
memorable time in the ex-British colony, go to Victoria harbour and admire the
beauty of modern technology.
A “son et lumière” is a sound and light show, a
form of night time entertainment that is usually presented in an outdoor place
of historic significance.
Named
on
21st November 2005 the “World's Largest Permanent Light and Sound
Show” by
Guinness World Records, coloured lights, laser beams and searchlights perform
in an unforgettable all-round spectacle that celebrates the energy, spirit and
diversity of Hong Kong. There are five main themes: Awakening, Energy,
Heritage, Partnership, and the finale, Celebration. This event was developed by
the Tourism Commission of the Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region.
This unforgettable show is in constant
evolution. 33 edifices initially took part in the show, but nowadays more than
40 skyscrapers and other buildings take part. This inimitable spectacle must be
seen at least once in your lifetime!
Sunday 28 December 2014
The Lumière brothers invent cinema... By Raphaël Bernard & Antoine DeLaForge
First films projected!
The Lumière brothers: Auguste (1862-1954) and Louis (1864-1948) were born in Besançon, France. They moved to Lyon
in 1870, where both attended La Martiniere, the largest technical school in
Lyon. Their father, Claude-Antoine Lumière (1840–1911), ran a photographic firm
where both brothers worked for him: Louis as a physicist and Auguste as a
manager.
In autumn 1894, Antoine Lumière asked his two sons to take
an interest in animated images which Thomas Edison and some other splendid pioneers
had already worked on. This paternal incentive is the starting point of an adventure
which lead to the invention of the Cinématographe.
It was not until their father retired in 1892 that the brothers began to create
moving pictures.
Public shows, lasting about 20 minutes, began on December 28th
1895 in the Indian Room, in the basement of the
Grand Café in Paris. L'arrivée
d'un train en gare de la Ciotat was
one of the main attractions of the show. The locomotive rushing towards the
spectators made the film a real success!
To promote the Cinématographe, films
had to made. Louis Lumière sent his operators all over the world, thus creating the first documentary films.
The following year, at the World Fair in Paris, the Lumière films were shown on a giant screen.
Helped by his brother, Louis turned to other activities.
In 1899, he developed the Photorama. In 1903, Louis created colour plate photography, put on the market in 1907.
He also studied “3-D” photography and presented, in 1920, at the Academy
of Science, the photostéréosynthèse
process. In 1935, thanks to the anaglyphs technique he achieved cinematographic
relief.
The Lumière brothers were curious and inventive, and launched the adventure
of moving pictures.
A light touch. By Jean-Baptiste Gauthier & Antoine Fevre
> Bosanko's graffiti
We took another photo of the same place, this time using the filter that we used for light painting. The second picture is much
clearer...
We shone the torch on different points of the fountain one after the other.
Have you heard of light painting? It’s painting in the air using a
point of light and capturing the movement of light on a photo using a long camera exposure. It dates back to 1889, and was used by
Frank Gilbreth in his scientific motion studies.
Photo by Gilbreth
Man Ray, in his 1935 series "Space
Writing," was the first well-known art photographer to use the technique. Other famous artists such as Pablo Picasso used light painting in their work.
It seems a difficult technique, but in fact it’s quite
easy to make a good light painting. Also, you can enjoy yourself making it!
You need a camera on which you can set long shutter
speeds. Light painting works better if you are in a dark place; the slow shutter
speed of your camera will compensate for the lack of light (it allows your camera to
get all the information). You also need a tripod for long exposure (unless you
want to create an abstract-looking photo, in which case you can move the
camera). You also need a light source; the best is an LED torch.
How does it work? When you light paint, you put your
camera on the tripod, then you adjust the shutter speed to choose the time of
exposure, then you take a light and draw something in the air so that the camera
captures the light moving in the air. Then you have a look at your drawing on
the photo.
The Place de la Victoire in Clermont-Ferrand, shot with a flash
Goal!
As the exposure time is very long, you can light
somebody up at different places and see him several times in
the same image.
Jean-Baptiste in front of the cathedral
We shone the torch on different points of the fountain one after the other.
Jean Baptiste as a ghost! He looks like a hologram.
We drew a bicycle, but it was very difficult!
Chazam!
A portrait of Voltaire, the Enlightenment philosopher (ha-ha)
As you can see, light painting is not so easy, but if
you keep practicing you can make amazing pictures. Light painting is an
incredible way to create!
Light is an infinite source of inspiration for artists
such as Darren Pearson.
Darren Pearson light painting
He painted most of the Californian wildlife using
light. It took him one year to make this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfTPxdrB5uQ
If you are not impressed yet, you will be when you see what people can do with a drone plus fireworks or LEDs!
Drone plus fireworks
Drone plus LEDs
We thank Maxence Dorut for lending us the hardware and
all the people involved in this project.
Dancing with light! Clara Delmas & Pauline Husser
Click HERE to watch the show!
The Quixotic
Fusion show is one of the most wonderful things in the world of dance. These
guys dance… with light! Actually, it is more than just a dance; it goes beyond
the limits of any specific form of art. It challenges traditional perceptions
and creates a total sensory experience, while exploring infinite possibilities
of movement and sound. It is a mix of movements and light in perfect harmony.
It seems as if the light is coming from the dancers’ bodies…
It’s a bright
choreographic idea by Anthony Magliano and Mica Thomas, the founders of
Quixotic, whom are also known for their famous aerialist company. Magliano said that he wanted
Quixotic audiences to be challenged, to feel a little unsettled and even a
sense of danger.
We were so
surprised by the way the group portrays feelings. All the emotions can be
represented through this type of dance: anger, joy, sadness and love… It is
really expressive and it gives a sense of universality because everyone can
identify themselves with this dance.
The theme of
dancing with light is very popular nowadays; people love this kind of art that
transports you out of the ordinary because it’s so different from what you
usually see. Several dance groups have decided to work on this kind of dance.
Even if the light element is common to all their shows, their approaches are
often really different. Have you heard of the shows by the Japanese Wrecking Crew Orchestra? The dancers have costumes
with light; it’s quite unique. The creators play with light and shade to
surprise the viewer. The show ‘Pleiades’ by another Japanese group called Enra, is quite similar to Quixotic
Fusion: the girls dance with light. Light becomes their dance partner. The
dancers move in front of a screen, whereas in the Quixotic Fusion show, the
light is all around the artists.
We interviewed
several spectators at the exit of the show:
“I personally
found the dance extremely beautiful and elegant. I love how the light was
portrayed. It was as if it became alive and danced in harmony with each of the
artists. I enjoyed the manner in which the choreographer was able to create an
alliance between the acrobatics, the dance, the music and the visual effects.”
“In my opinion,
this show is quite useless. I don’t think that dancing with light is so
exceptional: the light effects are not that sophisticated. I don’t understand
the success of the show because it’s a simple dance with a lot of lights! But,
I have to admit, dance isn’t really my cup of tea…”
“I don’t really
like dancing but it was a very original idea to celebrate the 2015 International
Year of Light! This show raises awareness of the importance of light in our
daily lives and how it is a vital factor in development. In fact, I loved the
overall idea and goal of this show as well as the show itself.”
Even if you're not
a dancer, seeing these shows could be a very interesting experience. Plus, there
is no age limit to
appreciate them, even if not everybody can understand the “meaning”…
The Northern Lights by Anaïs Lescher & Juliette Rascalou
What are the Northern Lights?
There is a very
beautiful phenomenon that all humans should see. It comes with many legends:
our ancestors thought that only God could create such a sight. Some of those
myths are very poetic but all these stories have a scientific explanation! So
we're just going to tell you how it works. From now on you will have something
to impress your friends!
Northern lights are
formed when particules from the Sun collide with the neutral atoms of the
atmosphere. Don't worry it's not as complicated as it sounds.
Sometimes in the
solar corona, protons and electrons are ejected and move too fast to be kept by
the Sun's gravity. That's as if the Sun removes his jumper. This plasma moves
away from the Sun and forms a solar wind.
Earth
has its own shield to protect itself against this solar wind : the
magnetosphere. But the particles are sly! They have the possibility to continue their journey towards the atmosphere.
When the
Sun ejects a very massive ball of plasma in the solar wind, it hits the Earth
so violently that it overcomes the magnetosphere and creates a magnetic storm.
The
magnetosphere is stressed and folds up like an overstretched rubber band. When
this rubber band is retracted, the particles are cast to the poles.
Protons and electrons have finally reached their destination and meet new
friends! When they meet oxygen and nitrogen atoms, these are excited and
produce photons. This creates beautiful northern lights!
In this way, very little particles have inspired a lot of legends
throughout time...
To see:
The Northern Lights in Scotland : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVsONlc3OUY
The Northern Lights in France : http://www.ouest-france.fr/aurore-boreale-sublime-spectacle-dans-le-pas-de-calais-et-en-vendee-3263115
La Ville des Lumières. By Agathe Lafoy & Marjolaine de Sury
Lyon is the "Ville des Lumières"!
The Lyon “Fête des lumières” was created in 1643
to express the population’s gratitude toward the Virgin Mary. It has been
celebrated on the 8th December each year since then. This festival became popular in 1852 due to
the newly built statue of the Virgin Mary next to the Basilica. The festival
changed from a celebration to the Nativity of the Virgin to what is has become
today, a day of joy mainly concentrated on artistic designs using a variety of
lighting effects. People can make their own glass display in their homes to
participate in the event but the City Council also pays artists and
professional decorators to add their own personal creations to the city and its
surroundings.
This festival is known around the globe as one
of the biggest festive gatherings in terms of people who go there after the Rio
Carnival and Oktoberfest. Lasting four days, up to 4 million tourists attend
each year. The two biggest attractions of the festival are normally at the Fourvière
Basilica, the facades of which are lit up with different colors and patterns.
The second important location is at Place des Terreaux which has a different
light show every year.
The festival is growing every year and has won
many prizes including the famous trophy for the best public event in 2006.
We interviewed Brooke, a friend of ours, who kindly
shared her experience: “I went there in 2013 and it was one of the best moments
of my life. The light shows made me feel like I was in a completely different
world and the music put me in a mood that was magical… It was the best feeling
I have ever had! My favorite event was the Ferris Wheel; my favorite part was
the story of Pierrot waking up. I really recommend going, it’s a fantastic
festival!’’
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