Dream Sets delivers for Scania in SA
- Details
Blue Moon brought on board Dream Sets, one of South Africa’s prominent set and technical services companies, to manufacture the set and exhibition areas and to deliver technical services for the event.
Toni Van Oostenrijk of SpaceCadet, who took the lead role in designing the look and feel of the set for the event, drew inspiration from the front grill of the new Scania trucks, which he worked into the design of the bar and reception area. “When we first proposed this idea to the client, they seemed a little sceptical. However, as with so many of Toni’s designs, as soon as they saw it, they instantly fell in love with the concept,” says Dream Sets project manager, Billy van der Merwe.
Billy explains how Dream Sets, together with their partners, managed to conceal and then dramatically unveil three full-sized trucks inside a dome structure by using some very creative stage design.
The event was hosted in one of Gearhouse In2Structure’s 6 Bay SupaDomes, which spans 36m by 72m long. Designed and manufactured in South Africa, In2Structure’s Supa Dome boast a load capacity of three tonnes per arch for rigging, which provided Dream Sets with all the capacity they needed to load in an impressive amount of lighting and audio equipment, in addition to a number of LED screens and set pieces for the event.
The Scania launch event comprised several phases, starting with a heritage walk, which provided visitors with the opportunity to amble through an exhibition space leading into the cocktail area. The exhibition was achieved using backlit lightboxes with images of Scania trucks printed on fabric.
Toni van Oostenrijk took the lead role in designing the look and feel of the set for the event and drew inspiration from the front grill of the new Scania trucks, which he worked into the design of the bar and reception area. “When we first proposed this idea to the client, they seemed a little sceptical. However, as with so many of Toni’s designs, as soon as they saw it, they instantly fell in love with the concept,” says Billy.
Once organisers were ready to open the main gala event, guests were welcomed into an impressive dinner and entertainment space, that was initially concealed using screens and an LED video wall. Once inside, they were invited to enjoy a meal and some live entertainment amid keynote addresses by Scania senior management.
To create the appropriate mood and add the required drama to the reveal, Dream Sets made use of their extensive inventory of event lighting inside the venue. “Our entire lighting inventory was in the dome, including our Robe LEDWash 800s, the ColorSpot 700s and the 150s, with a few additional fixtures. We also worked closely with LaserX, one of the leading providers of laser technology for the event industry in South Africa, to create an innovative and impressive laser show during the climactic reveal.”
(Jim Evans)
