The Edinburgh International Festival has a habit of making a big bang when it comes to August, increasingly at the start of the festival as opposed to the annual fireworks display on the final night. Carrying on from 2015, this year we were introduced to the fantastic “Deep Time” concept #deeptime by 59Productions, the team behind the 2012 Olympics projection work.

Image: Wee Photos

Last year’s Harmonium Project which transformed the Usher Hall into it’s sophisticated  and elaborate canvas was followed up by an even more impressive epic outdoor public artwork.

Deep Time brought together spectacular animation, lighting and an equally powerful soundtrack from Scottish band Mogwai (also playing this month without projections!) for a truly awe-inspiring opening evening in the capital.

Image: Murdo MacLeod

The theme of the projection was the tumultuous 350 million year history of my hometown, Edinburgh, from volcanic eruptions to dinosaur remains to the present day creative melting pot where Edinburgh welcomes the world to the biggest arts festival on earth.

The performance was 20 minutes in length, but that passed by in what felt like a couple of minutes – testament to the spectacular show on offer – and made the hour or more wait more than worthwhile to several thousand spectators.

Image: Murdo MacLeod

As a fan of clean lines and block colours, some of the projections were very much in line with my taste in art. Towards the end of the performance the sequence following the exact mapping of the projected Edinburgh Castle on top of the real thing will live long in my memory, and on the desktop of my PC. Sections of the castle were illuminated in fantastic bright colours piece-by-piece with the rest of the buildings plunged into darkness. Simply put – an incredible sight. Edinburgh Castle has never, and may never, look the same again.

Image: Edinblogger

Image: Edinblogger

Image: Murdo MacLeod

Although the free tickets were nabbed before many got a sniff, the Edinburgh International Festival filmed the full performance, which you can now enjoy below. Relive the magic, or experience it for the first time, online.

Steven
UKB