Liverpool animators take centre stage at Safe House premiere
The sophisticated animation of Liverpool-‐based creative studio Draw & Code featured in the premiere of Safe House, the large-‐scale theatre production that debuted just over a week ago. This spectacular outdoor event was witnessed by more than 5000 people as part of the Brighton Festival with one early review describing the show as ‘nothing short of incredible’.
Safe House was produced by live art specialists Metro Boulot Dodo and performed by the incredible Wired Aerial Company who leapt, spun, climbed and slid around the 50ft tall set with aplomb. The sun shone on the huge audience in leafy Hove Park as months of rehearsals came together to produce a show that will live long in the memory.
Safe House charts the story of a home and its inhabitants, touching on our relationship that we all have with the place we call home. The ‘aerialists’ are suspended above the set where they perform choreography that would be challenging enough on solid ground, let alone while flying through the air. The set is a super-‐sized house that also doubles as a screen for Draw & Code’s projection mapped animation.
Projection mapping is the art of creating animation that is tailored to fit unusual and multi-‐faceted surfaces – in this case a house. Draw & Code are experienced in creating projection-‐mapped animation, especially technically challenging theatrical animations that involve interactions with the performers.
After months of preparation, including rehearsing in an abandoned theatre in Leicester, Safe House premiered in Hove Park during the Brighton Festival last weekend. Thousands of revellers enjoyed the event; the early reactions and reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. The Argus wrote that the show was “innovative and incredible” while Twitter users were full of praise calling Safe House “wonderfully atmospheric” and “tons of fun”.
Draw & Code’s artistic director Andy Cooper was satisfied with the finished result; “It is always great to see an idea go from storyboard to premiering in front of a large crowd,” he explains, “With glorious weather it couldn’t have been any better.”
The next stop for Safe House was the Norfolk and Norwich Festival last weekend as the show goes on tour across the UK.
Jake is a Researcher and Interactive developer at Wonky Films and the face behind all of Show Me The Animation’s online platforms and website. So if it breaks he’s probably to blame! Aside from running the SMTA online, Jake make’s interactive things for Wonky Films.
