The pageantry of floats to be taken out here on Wednesday as part of the World Classical Tamil Conference will feature a sound and light treat that will have a combination of the ancient and the modern.
A float with LED screens, lights and replicas of Pallava-era sculptures has been created by film director Rajeev Menon.
Menon and his team have created a 40-foot-long and 19-foot-high float on which six LED screens totally weighing six tonnes will display shots of ancient structures of the State captured by veteran film director Shyam Benegal and also A.R. Rahman's theme song for the conference shot by director Gautam Menon.
As the theme songs play out on the big screen in the middle, the other scenes appear on the smaller ones on either side. “We felt thrilled doing this,” Menon said here on Tuesday. “It was like going back to school and learning afresh, because it was a new concept we were working on,” he said. “There is a mandapam of a temple and Pallava architecture. Apart from the theme song, the other images are of landscapes of the State, sites of archaeological importance and also of those showing farmers at work,” he said. “And there is also a shot of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at a literary work.”
Narinder Singh of Men at Work, who teamed up with Menon, said 25 persons were involved in getting this float ready in 10 days. The fabrication alone took five days. It had digitalised lighting. “The lights are in sync with the audio-video content,” he said.
“The significant part is the total use of LED lights. They use very little power but provide powerful lighting.”
Menon said: “This float encapsulates the social and cultural history of Tamil Nadu. It is classical and young too. Though we wanted an element of modernity, it was also to ensure that the float was not flashy like a rock show.”
