The lighting at this event is taken just as seriously as the prestigious guest list. Not only are there strict rules regarding rigging and visibility, the banquet is broadcast live on Swedish National television's SVT1.
Spectra Stage & Event Technologies in Stockholm supplied creative design and production management services, plus all lighting and AV equipment for visual requirements at the banquet. W-DMX transmitters and receivers were used to control the fixtures. Spectra utilised SGM's latest Giotto Synthesis 700 moving lights, Barco R18s for the projection and a radio DMX system from Wireless Solutions.
Spectra production manager Ola Melzig commented, "I love this product! It saves a lot of time and money, it's very safe and reliable, and it's just such a blessing not to have to run all those DMX cables...Especially on a show like this where the distances between the fixtures are super long."
A major challenge of putting a production into the Blue Hall is the complete absence of rigging points. However, there is a half metre wide ledge or lip around the very top of the building, so Spectra's starting point was the installation of four 'bumper' trusses in each corner, each secured across two sides the ledge.
This gave flying points for four pieces of mini beam. Rigged to these and also positioned strategically along the ledge were a total combination of 13 SGM Giotto Synthesis 700s, four Giotto Spots 400s, four SGM Palco LED floods for washing the roof, and fifteen 2K profiles. 24 LED battens uplit the Hall's walls rigged from below ,14 Wybron Nexera 575 Wash was used to wash the sculpted walls behind the balcony and 4 Syncrolite B52's was put behind the first floor windows. All fixtures were controlled with W-DMX.
(Jim Evans)
