Celebrating the 60th anniversary, the Diamonds Are Forever Gala was held in the presence of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex, and included a dinner and entertainment including a performance from Sir Tom Jones.
The event was produced by Jeremy Hartley of Entertainment Industries, with production design by Nicoline L. Refsing of Rockart Design, who has previously delivered stage designs for major events such as The BRIT Awards, League of Legends Worlds 2015 and creative direction for Eurovision.
PRG XL Video's special events specialist, Steve Greetham, was contacted by Hartley and Refsing to supply video and lighting technology for the event. Greetham has previously delivered event technology for other high profile events including the Queens Diamond Jubilee Concert, and the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Wembley.
The event design was created by Refsing and themed as a sophisticated, spectacular event that James Bond himself would attend. There were several surprising elements, guests were greeted by a selection of 007's famous vehicles outside the entrance and a row of sculptures of Bond girl dresses arranged on glitter plinths. These were lit using an array of LED fixtures from PRG XL.
Inside the venue, six large arched windows were covered with vinyl and transformed into shaped projection canvasses. Using six pairs of Panasonic 21k high brightness projectors and with content fed from a Catalyst media server, the shaped windows displayed a precisely mapped projection of graphics and logos from supporters of the event.
The main and central stages and rigging for the lighting and video were supplied by Blackout and PRG XL Video worked closely with them to ensure a seamless production. Across the main room and above the stage, an array of PRG XL Video's Varilite moving light spots and washes, and additional LED fixtures were used to light the space according to the lighting design by Svend Pedersen, and switched to an active design for the live performances.
Philips Colorblast LED uplighters lined the walls around the hall, creating decorative effects on the golden drapes.
Lighting for the event was managed by PRG XL account manager, Mat Ilott, with Tony Fagan acting as lighting crew chief on site. Upstage PRG XL Video supplied a large 11mm resolution LED screen which formed the backdrop for the live performances.
Downstage, a roller projection screen from Blackout dropped down to show playback content including information films, and house right a further wall projection screen from Blackfriars Scenery mirrored the content.
To capture the live performances PRG XL supplied a four-camera Panasonic portable production unit paired with Sony HD cameras. A recording of the event was also captured for later use by the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards organisation. The video set up of LED, camera system and projection was specified by PRG XL Video senior account manager, Paul Wood.
"We were delighted to be asked to supply technology for this Gala event," commented Steve Greetham. "Whilst events of this nature always present some specific challenges, working closely alongside experienced companies like Blackout, make the production run more smoothly. With Jeremy overseeing the event production and with Nicoline's beautiful design, it's no surprise the evening was a success."
(Jim Evans)
