Working closely with freelance production manager, Bernie Kearnes and PCI:Live’s technical director, John Marriot, Blackout’s project managers Tom Lambert and Kevin Monks and their team helped transform this stark venue into a magical environment for the press party. Attended by 400 of the world’s auto press journalists, the event launched the new Ford StreetKa, which has been billed as a modern interpretation of the traditional two-seater roadster. The set of the Blu Oval Club, designed by Martin Grant, was themed to express the corporate identity of the blue Ford logo. He created a relaxed and intimate after dinner club environment where journalists enjoyed champagne and canapés, entertainment from The James Taylor Quartet and the opportunity to investigate the new Ford StreetKa at close range.
Blackout worked closely with Grant and the production team from the outset and played a pivotal role in the realisation of his opulent set design. They supplied a staggering 3,000sq.m of bespoke silver and white voile fabric, designed specifically to meet his exacting specifications. Incorporated throughout the venue, the voile exuded a contemporary and stylish look. Martin Grant explained: "The aim was to create a ‘Blu’ environment which oozed sophistication and glamour whilst being soft and intimate - the voile played an essential role in the overall theatrical treatment."
The split-level set, supplied by Blackfriars, comprised the main bar and stage - built by Stage One - at ground level, a mezzanine and six individually themed "booths". The mezzanine also constructed by Stage One, covered over a quarter of the venue. Blackout’s team suspended the white voile in huge cascading swags around the doorways, dressed the perimeter of the entire set and provided the luxurious casement ceilings in the booths. The raw studio became a soft, elegant dreamscape.
As a semi-transparent fabric, the white voile provided a soft rippling canvas for the lighting and the ideal complement to LD Gary Collins’ design. Supplied by Essential Lighting, it combined Martin MAC 500s and 600s with Link Lite fluorescent tubes and fittings which, mixed together to achieve Lee 363 special medium blue pantone, created a totally "Blu" theme. For the dramatic reveal sequence that took place as The James Taylor Quartet commenced the evening's musical entertainment, Blackout supplied shimmering silver voile. This was suspended on a tabtrack system each side of the stage in the main bar, and was drawn apart to reveal the band and a stunning backdrop. Yet more silver voile was draped in front of a massive fibre-optic starcloth that acted like a gauze screen when up-lit, revealing the galaxy-like starcloth effect behind.
(Lee Baldock)
