'Renewal'

Ritual Circle & Battle

After our work at "The Gathering" (Live Role Playing - LRP event) a few years earlier, we were recruited by Curious Pastimes to coordiante the special effects (SFX) for their 'Renewal' LRP event.

We were responsible for; the SFX crew in general, the physical appearance of the 'ritual circle', all pyrotechnic effects and liaison with the tech crew regarding sound and lighting systems.

The circle itself was a 30ft diameter ring of hay bales, treated with UV security ink to create a 'magical' glow under the powerful 'black light' guns we were using. The circle also featured two 'stone' (sand stone textured fibreglass see below) constructions:

At its centre was a 'stone' table, which hid a smoke machine, strobe light and flood light which were used to create various effects.

Opposite the entrance to the circle was a trilithon (two uprights and a lintel) built around a set of concealed doors. These opened into a small chamber that could be filled with smoke and backlite, creating the effect of a 'magical portal' through which various creatures could be summoned or sent.

Around the perimeter of the circle were three lighting towers containing 450 watt UV guns, strobe lights and 'Martin Pro Scans' all operated from a DMX control desk and used to produce various lighting effects.

In addition to the lights we had four speaker stacks with two additional sub base drivers powered from appropriate amplifiers and with multiple feeds via a 24 channel mixing desk. This system was used to provide sound effects from different sources, such as CD's, a pitch shift voice system and limited band pink noise to create deep rumbling 'earth quake' effects.

We also provided aerial and ground based pyrotechnic special effects at the ritual circle and elsewhere:

Specifically the "Big Bang" effects at the start and during the battle, as well as lesser effects around the site and in amongst the battle lines.

Constructing The Trilithon

& Stone Table

We suggested building a 'Stone Circle' in the style of Stone Henge & Avebury, in order to fit the 'Bigger & Better' brief we'd been given, from fibreglass with a sandstone finish to match the natural rock found at the venue of the event.

After discussions and assurances that the props would last at least five years - becoming company assets. We were was given the go-ahead to build a 'Stone Table' (a slab supported by three legs) as the central focus of the circle and a 'Trilithon' (two uprights and a lintel) to hide a 'magical portal'.

We set about building the mechanical structure of these props (the portal doors and table frame) from standard construction grade timber (2 by 2's, 3 by 3's and 1/2" plywood).

The basic shapes of the 'Stones' were carved in expanded polystyrene, once we were happy with the shape, these were given several coats of emulsion paint to prevent the polyester resin from melting the polystyrene. These were then fibreglass over using general purpose laminating resin and chop strand matting. Once this shell had cured, we corrected any faults and set about applying the textured final coat.

The texture coat consisted of garden quality sharp sand mixed with polyester resin and various pigments (to match the colour of the natural rock at the venue). Due to its thick consistency, this had to be plastered onto the shell. Before this layer cured it was given additional texture by grit blasting with dry sharp sand, in order to prevent curing before this final operation, the resin/sand mix was applied in batches of approx. 1 square meter at a time.