Pride of Cape Town

Company:

Born Fee

Type of Event:

Gala & Corporate Entertainment

Size:

100 - 200 pax

Description:

Pride of Cape Town is a public arts event, showcasing 50 life sized lion sculptures in aid of the international wildlife charity, the Born Free Foundation. The event was held at The Grand Café & Beach. There was a memorable live performance by Queen rock legend Brian May and the West End and Broadway singing sensation Kerry Ellis, followed by a moving speech by Virginia McKenna, Actress and Founder of wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation.

The challenge:

Create awareness of the plight of captive lions by using a large display to showcase video footage and emotional pictures. The screen will form a backdrop for a live performance and the picture must be clear in a high ambient light environment where space for rear projection is not available. Provide a sound system for speeches and an acoustic performance by a singer and a guitarist, adequate for 250 people. Ensure that the stage is well lit since this is a high profile event.

The response:

We provided a modular LED screen that was as big as the venue could accommodate, while maintaining a 4:3 aspect ratio. The LED technology allows people to be in front of the screen, much like a rear projection screen, but it has the advantage of better performance in high ambient light and you don’t lose the space that is required for rear projection throw distance.

The venue has many steel and concrete surfaces which is not audio friendly. We provided a six speaker Turbosound P.A. to spread the sound and accurately reproduce the acoustic performance in this demanding type of environment. We used a Sennheiser ew300 microphone, which is great for female vocals, a Shure sm58 for backing vocals and for the guitar we used a combination of a Shure sm57 and BSS DI. Speeches where made on a Shure MX418 condensor gooseneck microphone, which combined with the perspex podium, created an elegant look and feel.

The stage was flooded with open white light from Par Cans to ensure high visibility. Some of the life size lion sculptures where elevated to create a nice display and all of them where lit with LED Par Cans to draw attention. We supplied a power generator to cope with the electrical demands of the event.

The event was well attended and highly successful in its goal to raise awareness.