Universal did not disappoint. They prepared two areas - a reception and main dining room - for 1200 guests and VIPs to enjoy themselves for an afternoon of fun and enjoyment that also honoured the very best talent in the UK Exhibition industry. The main room consisted of a traditional dinner table format, complete with two stages - one for awards and one for bands. Universal's brief was to design a slick presentational production.
Universal worked with ExCeL's preferred rigging contractors, Melville Presentations, to provide 425m of box truss, suspended on 68 motors, from which all sound, lighting and AV equipment was flown. The room was blacked out by S & H, who were brought in by Universal to handle the 'soft' aspects of the event. They also provided 228m of starcloth hung around the room. Universal supplied all sound, lighting and AV elements from stock, and sub-contracted Def Lasers for the show's laser-based, excitement-enhancing opening sequence.
Audio was designed by a combination of Mike Day (Awards stage) and Fraser Munroe (Band stage). Sound for the Awards stage consisted of a high clarity, unobtrusive EAW KF730 SLAM line array system. The band stage - featuring Hot & Horney needed to kick more ass, so Munroe specified an EAW KF850 & SB850 system, complete with EAW SM122s, which he mixed with an Allen & Heath ML4000 console.
Lighting for the main room and both stages was designed by James Ficking. He used Martin MAC 600s, Vari*Lite 3000s and 2002s for the primary moving elements, plus 90 PARS and 20 ETC Source Four Zooms. Four James Thomas Pixelline LED battens were used for stage effects. A disco-tastic dancefloor lighting scheme was achieved using 24 Futurelight fixtures - all operated by Fickling using an Avolites Pearl 2000 console.
The reception area was lit in a more formal architectural style, using Studio Due MiniCitys and Source Four PARs and zooms, all controlled by second Pearl desk. Universal built and installed the Awards stage, a 24ft diameter sphere, complete with a 6 x 4 hydraulic platform in the centre and CO2 jets under the stage grilles, so the Awards could be dramatically 'revealed'.
On the video front, Universal supplied three live Sony DVCam cameras and seven screens and data projectors - ranging between 5000 and 10,000 Lumens - for around the room, plus a PPU unit. The central onstage screen was a 3.3m diameter circle, encased in Floyd-style trussing. The live IMAG was directed by Steve Hardcastle and vision mixed by Jay Martinez using an Analog Way Octo Fade. The Awards show also contained projected graphics, stored on PowerPoint, which were designed and produced by Dave Woolley. The show was called by Lynn Nelson and floor managed by Ali Dyer.
(Lee Baldock
