Over R2 million was raised in aid of youth development at the fourth annual Chefs Who Share – the Art of Giving Back. Since its inception, CCPP Group have supplied the full technical for the black-tie gala event which is usually hosted in the Cape Town, but this year was brought to the Johannesburg City Hall. The set was designed by cNic and built by Dream Sets.
This annual charity event saw top international chefs arrive in Johannesburg to cook alongside South Africa’s finest talent, ending the experience at a fundraising gala dinner. “The client is very particular,” commented Clint Cawood, who established CCPP in George in 2006. “While they never give us free reign, they provide detailed guidelines which at the end of the day is great for everyone.”
Clint invested in a DiGiCo S21 prior to the event. On the lighting side, Lans Pepler from CCPP programmed on a grandMA2 ultra-light to wash the Edwardian styled Johannesburg City Hall which has been described as a jewel in the heart of the city, in colours of amethyst with accentuations in amber.
As there are no hanging points in the venue, a layer scaff formed the backdrop of the set to allow the rigging of a floating Projection screen. “It was a major construction just to hang the screen literally 2.5m in the air,” said Clint. “The idea was simple but it really worked. It was delivered by Dream Sets and I always work well with them.”
The lighting equipment list included 12 x Philips Selecon 2K Wash, 120 x Longman FacePars (used in the venue and the gallery entrance), 16 x Robin LEDWash 300s, 4 x Robin DLS Spots, 8 x Martin Quantum Washes and 8 x Martin Quantum Spots. While CCPP supplied most of the equipment, they hired additional gear from Solid Rock Event Technical.
The classical arches of the venue and the dramatic pipe organ, one of the largest in Africa which has over 6 000 pipes, were up lit with Robin LEDWash 300s, creating a silhouette effect.
“The DLS Spots also worked very well,” said Clint. “We used the shutters on the banner walls, lighting the band on the main stage as well as a smaller stage area where the focus was on a single artist who performed during set changes.”
The greatest test, besides a tight load-in, was learning the audio desk in time. “But it worked out perfectly! The DiGiCo support at DWR Distribution certainly contributed to putting it together without a problem.”
Clint Cawood started his career when he was in grade 8. “I started doing teeny bopper events in the Garden Route and started saving the money that came in to buy gear. It grew from there and ten years ago, I was able to start CCPP.”
