Headed by Robin St. Clair Jones AVT has been servicing blue chip and events across the world over a 30-year period, organising the whole scenography from set and stage, graphics content, multimedia and project management. But since moving their projection requirements to Christie three or four years ago they have been able to broaden their scope enormously.
Robin St. Clair Jones explained that AVT had been using another proprietary supplier for their midrange LCD requirements. "But then we discovered Christie's LX range and realised that they represented a quantum leap forward - and tremendous value for money."We started wiith the LX45's, and remain very pleased with them. But when we started getting inquiries to do some evening cinema projections at Canary Wharf we upgraded to the Christie RoadRunner LX100; and once you've had the best, with 10,000 ANSI lumens at your disposal, you move on from there."
The first of their three day Awards marathons saw the two LX100's deployed in front of 700 guests at the Grosvenor House Hotel for an event featuring newsreaders Felicity Barr and Sir Trevor McDonald and described as extremely classy. "This is the fourth year we have done it, and it's one of the slickest events we do," remarked Robin.
Projecting from the balcony, the two LX100's, fitted with 4.6-6:1 zoom lens, were firing onto two screens, positioned at either stage wing. "We were able to mount the Christie's off stage units but at the same time they are also easy to fly," Robin continued. "One of the projectors had to be situated off centre but the keystoning facility got us out of trouble, and provided good latitude. The result was an ultra-bright picture."
The projectors were taking their feeds from a three-camera PPU, run through an Eventix Seamless Switcher - which was the ideal solution for this type of show. AVT, who have a video edit suite and sound booth at their Brighton facility also provided the content, with Dave Coxall, their graphics specialist, taking responsibility for the Powerpoint presentation, triggered from Dell XPS computers.
The venue's sound and lighting infrastructure was supplemented by the rental staging company, with a lighting ground support erected behind the set; they also provided an impressive stage thrust. Summarising, Robin St. Clair Jones said: "We wanted to keep the event as enjoyable as possible, and understanding the demographics of the audience was vital; it's essential to have the right music to keep the momentum going."
AVT then set off for Cornwall, where their regional manager Jon Johnson and head of events Spencer Randall oversaw the setting up of two LX45s at the St. Mellion Hotel and Country Club for the Cornwall Business Awards. The hat-trick was completed the following night when two further LX45s were rigged, alongside an LX100, at the Argus Achievement Awards.
Summing up, Robin St. Clair Jones said: "We are delighted by our decision to go the Christie route; we get great support from the company and a lot of potential customers, having seen the impact of the projectors on these high-profile events, have expressed keen interest."
(Lee Baldock)
