AC-ET on show at British Grand Prix Party
- Details
Staged every year within the grounds of the BRDC Farm as part of the Formula 1 Rolex British Grand Prix weekend, the legendary occasion attracts high-profile members and personalities from the world of motorsport.
This year's event marked a decade for AC-ET's patronage of the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s exclusive ‘Rising Stars’ programme, and as supplier of the creative lighting design for the British Grand Prix Party.
Working closely again with the BRDC to create the lighting theme for this year's event, AC-ET supplied the complete indoor and outdoor effects lighting systems incorporating nearly 150 fixtures. This included some of the latest static and moving LED technologies from innovators Chroma-Q and ProLights, with networking and control systems from Luminex and Jands Vista. The project was overseen by AC-ET's in-house production manager, Andy Walne Smith.
For the event's two-storey VIP hospitality marquee, separate daytime and evening lighting schemes were needed for the downstairs dining and lounge areas, and the upstairs bar and DJ / live band entertainment areas.
Chroma-Q's Space Force LED soft lights provided general ambient illumination during the day, including for the downstairs food and coffee serving areas, and the bars on each floor. In addition, the brand's multi award-winning Color Force II colour-mixing LED washlights and a flexible package of ProLights Luma700, Stark 1000, Razor 440 and Diamond range LED fixtures provided wash and static lighting during the day.
During the evening, the luminaires delivered high quality coloured effects and moving beam lighting - creating a lively and dynamic atmosphere for the party's bars, dance floor and performance areas.
Over 40 ProLights Solar IP65 colour-mixing LED wash lights illuminated the exterior of the marquee and the Farm house, as well as the surrounding trees and garden - extending the ambience of the party into the outdoor spaces.
Next to the marquee, additional Chroma-Q Space Force fixtures provided powerful soft lighting to illuminate a covered display featuring legendary Classic Team Lotus driver Jim Clark's world championship winning cars.
In a separate outdoor area within the garden, Chroma-Q's IP65-rated Studio Force Compact washlights and Color One 100 colour-mixing PARs provided punchy uplighting of BMW sponsor cars, branded graphics and an adjacent stage used for driver interviews.
Jands Vista systems provided powerful control of the dynamic lighting schemes inside and outside the marquee. Inside, with space at a premium, AC-ET specified the compact footprint Vista S1 console and two M1 wings, connected to a PC and two touchscreens. A Vista PC system running on a laptop in a storage room within the garden was used to control the outdoor lighting.
Both systems ran over ArtNet, with Luminex and Chroma-Q data distribution. The large quantity of power, data and hybrid cabling needed for the event was provided entirely by AC-ET's in-house Tourflex Cabling bespoke cable assembly service.
BRDC events manager, Hannah Thompson commented: “With a host of Formula One drivers present, alongside over three hundred BRDC Members and guests, the pressure was on to deliver a first-class event. The result was sensational and the feedback confirmed that, once again, A.C. Entertainment Technologies had pulled out all the stops. The company delivered an exceptional lighting display.”
AC-ET’s range of entertainment technology solutions will feature on the AC-ET stand at PLASA 2017 (stand E30).
(Jim Evans)
