Lighting designer Per Sundin and production manager Ola Melzig collaborated in advance for the Banquet in 2008 using wysiwyg and Vivien. The two have worked together on the event several times in the past, but last year was the first time Vivien was integrated. There was no hesitation to use the software combination for the 2009 Banquet. Melzig had recreated the banquet setup inside the Blue Hall in Vivien in 2008, down to every last royal fork.
The set up of the tables, chairs and place settings is exactly the same every year, so the team took Melzig's file from 2008 and immediately had an exact template. Sundin combined it with the lighting design he created in wysiwyg, providing an accurate picture of how the combinations would look - before even one light was rigged or one table was set up."wysiwyg and Vivien are incredibly useful concept tools," said Melzig, "This banquet has been taking place in this same location for 75 years and the drawings have always been on paper. Now that we have a 3D model, everyone in the planning process can visualize their ideas accurately in a much faster and efficient way. The only things that change year to year are the flowers, entertainment and lighting, so imagine how helpful it is to share this file."
The lighting was designed to be elegant and sombre this year to compliment the entertainment, which incorporated choir music and a storytelling theme. Sundin claimed: "It was an enormous benefit having the sophistication of wysiwyg and Vivien in hand again this year. It saved us many hours and headaches having the perfect look ready, before we ever set foot in the building. With this software combination, everyone can put their thoughts into shared files, from the florist to the entertainment, allowing everyone to actually see the ideas, rather than relying on descriptions and imagination."
The main lighting consisted of 14 MAC 2000 Profiles hung from truss sections in two corners of the ceiling, with an additional four Mac 700 Wash fixtures positioned on the upper balcony. Another 14 MAC 250 Entour Standard fixtures were positioned on the third floor behind the 14 ornately sculptured windows. General atmosphere lighting around the Blue Hall was provided by Source Fours and Pars with 22 SGM Riabaltas mounted on pillar brackets around the perimeter of the room.
Fourteen Wybron Nexera fixtures were used as uplights to frame the massive etched glass doors leading to the Golden Hall on the second floor balcony. Lighting was controlled with an ETC Congo and a High End Systems Full Boar, with one ETC Congo Jr as backup. All of these pieces integrated seamlessly into Sundin's wysiwyg rendering.
Sundin stated: "wysiwyg and Vivien proved to be valuable for this event. Production time is short, with fewer than four days for load-in, rigging, programming and rehearsals. Load-in alone takes longer than most venues, as the 85-year old building was not built with modern technology in mind. So any measure that saves time is considered invaluable."
(Jim Evans)
