Bluey Design was responsible for lighting both the exterior and the interior of the Orangery. The interior day set was enhanced with custom-made low-voltage stick lights built into the set tops, with care taken to ensure that all cabling was concealed within custom trunking to make the venue look like a permanent installation. By night, the interior lighting was led by three thousand candles safely installed behind white gauze panels, with yellow floodlights then giving a warm glow to the roof. Outside, over one hundred light fittings ranging from Mac600s to Par38 uplighters were spread around the garden, along with underwater lighting in the central pool.
Bluey Design turned to Colourhouse for many of the practicalities of the installation, with Colourhouse supplying the mains distribution from two 125A three-phase generators, cabling, many strings of pealights, Mac600s in weatherproof domes, Avo control and much more besides.
As well as continuing the collaboration between Colourhouse and Bluey Design, the BT Exact Ball is also a long-standing collaboration between Colourhouse, British Telecom and event organiser RNSS: this is the third year that Colourhouse has been involved with this event, which raises money for various Suffolk-based charities. This year's brief was to transform the space into a Hollywood-themed gala dinner venue; the final design included five complete sets ranging from a medieval castle to a Wild West area, along with a main stage used for acts including Heather Small and The Commitments.
Colourhouse supplied all of the rigging and lighting for the event, Mark Hardwidge's rig including moving lights from Martin, conventional lighting run from Celco Fusion dimmers, and also added to the theming of the event by installing some of the lighting on old-style pantographs. Colourhouse also provided lighting in the reception tent and outside the venue, which featured a Batman set with the actual car from the Batman films.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
