Gearhouse South Africa supplies Cape Town Fashion Week
Published: MEA
SOUTH AFRICA: Gearhouse South Africa supplied the lighting, audio, A/V, power and rigging, and sister company Sets, Drapes, Screens (SDS) provided all set elements for Cape Town Fashion Week 2011 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The entire project was managed for Gearhouse by Theo Van As and Grant Orchard from the Cape Town branch.
The original 360 degree, all-white set design was devised by Grant Blackbeard and Deon Redman of Africa Fashion International and adapted by Gearhouse’s Tim Dunn and Theo van As. The end result was an unusual square gloss walkway in the centre of the room which afforded the models ample opportunity to interact with the audience positioned on all four sides.
On the audio side, the shows were mixed by DJ Dino. Gearhouse distributed L-Acoustics Hi-Q speakers around the roof truss to achieve even coverage for the seating stands. Gearhouse describes the Hi-Q speakers as having ‘the perfect dispersion for this type of application; 60 degree co-axial 15-inch with 2-inch compression driver for the angle and distance to audience’.
For ambient mood lighting and effects Mr Dunn made use of Martin Mac 2000e washes and profiles. It took a total of 100 ETC Source 4 fixtures to achieve the precise lighting for the ramp. One of the challenges of lighting this project was the meticulous calculations required to ascertain the exact angle and degree of light dispersion from the height of the truss to the ramp, to achieve the level and type of lighting required on the catwalk. Mr Dunn’s lighting was designed to focus attention on the garments and models, and to provide quality photographic lighting without diluting the wall projections.
Pristine white screen surrounds suspended from a square ceiling truss configuration were used as a ‘visual wrap’, surrounding the audience in a moving, virtual background of projection. Built-in 11.7m x 6.7m projection screens were used to display a mix of custom content, live camera feeds, AFI video, behind-the-scenes video and live twitter feeds. Gearhouse used centrally hung Christie Roadster HD18K projectors for their ‘projection levels and image quality’ which lifted the projections out of the ambient light level. All A/V content was supplied by Silver Bullet.
Grant Orchard came up with a multi-layered set, incorporating three levels of projection. The finish of the set comprised a white and black gloss runway with gold edging and a rear projection surface which functioned as a backdrop, using content projected from Christie 8K projectors. Further up the ramp, translucent fabric drops provided additional layering and in front, a huge proscenium arch displayed mapped projections from two Christie 16K projectors. ‘The fabric drops worked wonderfully, giving the impression of floating flowers within the set whilst allowing the guests to see models through the fabric, when they walked behind,’ explained Mr Orchard.