Robe lights sky high Xbox launch at the Leonardo
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The lighting, crew and technical production were delivered by event technical specialists MSTARR working for event producers Penquin.
Amassed media, press and VIPs watched the spectacle unfold from the rooftop balcony of the nearby Radisson Blu Hotel on Rivonia Road, a vantage point offering the best views, with the event also clearly visible from all around the Sandton CBD and beyond. It brought plenty of positive energy and vibes to the city amidst a challenging year.
The launch lighting scheme was designed by Greg Angelo and MSTARR’s Gareth Chambers who chose Robe’s BMFL fixture because “it was the only fixture that could do the job and blast enough light across the 550-metre throw distance.”
MSTARR Productions has recently been taken over by Gareth and his business partners – sound enthusiast, Zweli Ngcobo and company CFO Landy Yeatman – and undergone complete restructuring ready for a new era of enterprise. This was their first major high-profile brand experience event.
To illuminate The Leonardo thoroughly and spectacularly, 18 x Robe BMFLs – six BMFL WashBeams and 12 x BMFL Blades – were installed in three different locations.
Gaining the required permissions to do this involved getting the agreement of three separate buildings and their management and security companies – the Benmore Shopping Centre roof parking, the Sandton Gautrain station parking lot, and the Radisson Hotel which also had fixtures positioned on its actual roof.
Two BMFL WashBeams and four BMFL Blades were deployed in each location, an operation that included manually carrying the kit up staircases in some cases to reach to the respective rooftop positions. Each set of luminaires was controlled locally by a grandMA Dot2 console.
Three of the BMFL Blades were fitted with custom Xbox gobos for projecting a crisp, clear image onto the building, with local power utilized at the Radisson and the fixtures in the two parking lots running off generators.
The set up was completed the day before the event and was also tested that evening.
On the night, the 30 or so socially distanced VIP guests first joined a reception at the Leonardo Hotel, and at dusk were shuttled just up the road to the Radisson and taken to the balcony which revealed stunning views of The Leonardo illuminated in green and overlaid with the logos.
The Leonardo’s permanent LED architectural lighting scheme was also turned green for the event.
“I was delighted with the BMFLs,” said Gareth. “They did exactly what we wanted and needed, and they were the only lights in South Africa that could have done the job.”
