Light show transforms Edinburgh Castle in Festival curtain-raiser

THE biggest ever curtain-raiser to the Edinburgh International Festival transformed the Castle Rock into a vast work of art.
Deep time marvelled audiences at the Edinburgh Castle. Picture; Neil HannaDeep time marvelled audiences at the Edinburgh Castle. Picture; Neil Hanna
Deep time marvelled audiences at the Edinburgh Castle. Picture; Neil Hanna

The sound and light show honoured a host of the city’s most celebrated figures and charted 350 million years of history on the rugged canvas.

An estimated 27,000 ticket-holders took to the streets to watch the 18-minute Deep Time event, created using 42 projectors beaming special effects on to the castles’s western facade.

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Leading digital animation company 59 Productions joined forces with Edinburgh University academics to create a piece of work exploring the city’s “intellectual legacy”.

Picture; Neil HannaPicture; Neil Hanna
Picture; Neil Hanna

Set to music by the Glasgow indie-rock band Mogwai, the free event honoured James Hutton, the 18th century Edinburgh scientist who became known as “the father of geology”.

Deep Time was the second in a series of free public curtain-raisers instigated by Edinburgh International Festival director Fergus Linehan.

Three times has many projectors and more than double the length of cabling was used for Deep Time compared to last year’s Harmonium Project, which saw the facade of the Usher Hall transformed before a crowd of almost 20,000.