While Protec's core business is corporate events it also provides production for rock and roll events, and the year kicked off with #DBXNYE, Dubai's biggest New Year's Eve party, which featured Pharrell Williams, Busta Rhymes, Paul Oakenfold and others. Protec supplied the audio, an L-Acoustics K2 system with a DiGiCo SD5 desk; lighting which included many Clay Paky and Vari-Lite fixtures ran on a GrandMA2 Full desk; video, which was displayed on 150sq.m of Protec's Mambo 9mm LED screen; plus staging, rigging and the company's EHD Mark 2 concert roof system.
Another spectacular event was the opening ceremony for IDEX 2015, which won the 2015 Middle East Event Award for Best Temporary Venue or Structure. A daytime show, repeated over five days, it involved military jet sorties, helicopters stunts, ships, jet boats, tanks, stunt vehicles, soldiers, stuntmen, movie special effects and more. Protec built a unique show performance area on a car park over an area of 1256sq.m. The 'stage' which was built to resemble a port, included buildings, warehouses, bridges, a canal that held 2,534 million litres of water for boats to get into the action, 8720 tons of tarmac, road base and sand to build the staging surface where 500 performers from across the world performed.
While IDEX was in full swing, Protec was busy lighting another successful Red Fest 2015, the region's biggest music festival held at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre, featuring artistes such as The Script, Iggy Azalea and Bastille. The GrandMA2 desk ran about 200 Clay Paky, Vari-Lite and Martin Professional fixtures.
Protec was then at the heart of another award-winning event - the Du Annual Staff gathering, for client Cheil Worldwide, which win the Wow Asia Award for the Best Event / Experience of the year 2015. Conceptualised by Protec's design department, the show content's 3D projection mapping was tested on a scaled 3D printed model of the set before Protec's audio, video, lighting, rigging, automation, backline, staging and design departments took over to finish off the experience.
Corporate events, meanwhile, continued till the heat of the summer eventually put the brakes on the season, but even that couldn't stop the company from extending its already vast amount of equipment housed in its facility that contains 13 warehouses, with plans underway to shift to a larger facility by the end of October.
As the new facility is being built, Protec Video meanwhile, has added 90 new Barco projectors at 20k and 30k lumens, 16 Christie 45k projectors, an additional 150sq.m of 4mm Mambo LED twist panels, another d3 Pro 4x4 media server to add to the three already in use, plus two brand new d3 2x2plus media servers, taking its d3 stock to six media servers.
Protec Lighting has added additional MA2 full-size consoles, two MA Video Processors, 96 Clay Paky Mythos, 36 Clay Paky Stormy and 48 LED Show Batten, but company CEO and founder Stephen Lakin believes the company's latest investment in Robotics is the most exciting development: Protec's new Special Projects division will specialise in robotics, motion tracking and innovations. The company's facility in Dubai recently took delivery of six Kuka robots, joining the existing Baxter robots already in stock.
(Lee Baldock)
