Over 127 schools were invited to attend a Careers Day on 7 April, hosted by Silverstar in Krugersdorp – the focus on employment opportunities available within this casino. DWR Distribution was asked to be a sponsor and exhibitor, giving students the opportunity to consider working in the entertainment industry as a technician. The conference venue became a haven for 500 students, hungry for knowledge. Photos by Callie Du Preez, DWR.
Thabo Ntsala, Multimedia Manager at Silverstar, who heads technical for events and conferences, was clearly chuffed. “Silverstar have hosted a day like this before on a much smaller scale,” he said. Thabo explained that students would be exposed to various professions including Marketing, Events Management and Promotions, PR, Property Management, Maintenance, Health and Safety, Hotel / Hospitality, IT, Slots, Tables, Surveillance, HR, Finance and more.
Thabo Ntsala from Silverstar (second left) with DWR’s Gareth Chambers, Dave Whitehouse and Callie du Preez.
As Silverstar is a popular venue for live entertainment and conferences, Thabo invited DWR Distribution to be part of the project, enabling visitors to see how lighting and sound could transform a venue. DWR’s Gareth Chambers created dramatic looks on the main stage, using a dot 2 XL to program a Robe Lighting rig. This comprised of 2 Robe BMFL Wash Beams, 4 Robe Mini Pointes, 6 Robin LEDBeam 100, 2 DL4S, 6 Robin 300 LEDWash, 4 Parfects, 4 Clay Paky B-Eye K20, Longman Parcans and a Le Maitre Hazer. For sound, a DiGiCo S2 Console formed part of the gig.
DWR’s Gareth, Dave Whitehouse and Callie du Preez also manned a busy stand – believe it or not, these three all wanted to be involved in the military when they were growing up! “I think the Careers Days was a really good idea, and thank you to Thabo for this opportunity,” commented Dave Whitehouse. “For one, it puts us in touch with people who may want to come into the industry. Secondly, it gives us a different perspective of somebody who is outside the industry looking in.”
INHOUSE appoints crew who provide technical support at Silverstar and who also assisted on the day. “I love it here, this is my life” said Callan van Zyl, AV Technician. Callan is a qualified sound engineer, and after working in the industry for seven years, joined INHOUSE almost a year ago. “The Career Day has been awesome. Technical is fun and I would recommend it. There are long, hard hours but it always pays off. No money in the world can take away the feeling one gets when there’s a standing ovation at the end of the show.”
Shane Beck and Callan van Zyl from INHOUSE.
Shane Beck, also from INHOUSE agrees. “I was in a college when I received an internship from Silverstar and have been based as an audio visual technician. It’s amazing to give inspiration to the younger ones who want to go into multimedia. You have to have passion in this field.”
Ended Thabo Ntsala, “It was really amazing to see the students showing so much interest in our industry, for them to realise that there is so much to learn and many career opportunities in the entertainment industry. Career Day was a great platform to showcase our field, and as much as I’ve been in the industry for many years, I’m still learning and that never stops as long as technology keeps changing. A big thank you to DWR for sponsoring the amazing lights and consoles for our event. Gareth, Dave and Callie thanks for your support and giving out information to the students. The lighting was amazing Gareth. It was a successful day for all of us, thank you.”
Gareth Chambers, DWR.
