04 March 2013
By Chris De Lancey, Enterstage Africa
Having successfully managed the Nissan Dealer Awards Conference for 2011 and 2012, it was with confidence that Enterstage was tasked with putting together the conference for this year’s event at Sun City.
With 3 venues used for the various events, and the unveiling of 8 Vehicles to contend with, this was certainly an event to get “your motor running”.
Months of planning ensued to ensure that while the vehicle reveals took centre stage, the award winners were not overshadowed and received their rightful moment of glory.
To reveal 8 vehicles, individually, certainly got the team scratching their heads, but a solution that excited the client was eventually decided upon.
2 Large stages to the side of the room, above which 2 x 14m boxes trusses housing 3 circular trusses and 3 electronic Kabuki drops per side was flown. 2 Additional circular 6.8m stages were placed in the front of the room, and instead of a “drop” reveal, it was decided to fly these up into the roof.
A 20m x 5m screen filled the main stage to provide visual support as each vehicle was revealed.
Not only did this take up a huge amount of space, but still the client wanted to divide the room in 2 to allow for pre- dinner drinks, while maintaining a sense of surprise.
Trussing, trussing and more trussing was needed. Not to mention motors and cabling! It always amazes how the Superbowl manages to clear almost any warehouse!
As the planning stage drew to an end, and it became apparent that a last minute purchase made financial sense, our good friends at DWR Distribution came to the rescue.
100m of H40 Prolyte trussing was ordered to add to existing stock, along with 14 Prolyft motors and the required rigging accessories. With deadlines tight, Duncan Riley, Robert Izzett and the team were under pressure to deliver. Quite literally, as the motors arrived, they were loaded into a truck, doors were closed, and the truck left for Sun City…and yes, the DWR team were still dispensing helpful advice as they helped to load! Robert then had to dash back to the office to collect 210m of Socopex cabling that was still being labelled, and by 10pm that evening, we finally managed a cold beer.
In addition to our existing lighting rig, lighting designer Rob Hoey insisted on adding 10 x Robe Colorspot 700s, Robe ColorWash 2500 and a couple of Robe Cityscapes for decor lighting, while using his preferred GrandMA2 Full Size to control the rig. The Spots provided the perfect Gobos for the “Fire and Ice” theme.
On the job, the fixtures, trussing and motors all performed with the desired results, and added to the success of this event. Enterstage certainly considers DWR as part of the crew on this Gig, and had there been a credit roll, their place would have been well deserved!
Lighting Equipment List:
47 Philips Selcon SPX Profile
10 Robe ColorSpot 700
8 Robe ColorWash 2500
8 Robe Cityscape 48
12 Longman Battons
12 Martin Mac Aura
16 Martin Mac 101 RGB
16 Martin Mac 101 CT
8 Martin Mac 575
48 LED Parcans
64 Generic Par 64
1 GrandMA2 Full Size
1 Martin M1
10 Prolyft 1 ton
10 Prolyft ½ Ton
12 CM Loadstar 1 Ton
3 Avolites Power Cube
220m x Prolyte H40 trussing and various corner blocks
