Page 251 - Protec PR Book Volume 2

When asked about any challenges that were overcome Dan explained: “The two large VIP Decks left and right of the pool were a challenge. They both linked to the adjacent clubs “Soho Garden” and “Drai’s”. We were asked to effectively cover the area but minimise spill into the other venues. For this Protec hung its L-Acoustics Kara Loudspeakers on 9m towers and trimmed them in such a way as to reduce sound at a chosen crossover point between the other venues. This proved to be
effective as all three clubs operated simultaneously with minimum disturbance between them.”
The system was controlled by a Digico SD11, with a D-rack at the stage end to distribute signal effectively over the venue. An Avalon SP747 tube compressor was inserted over the master to control the sound whilst adding the famous character the unit is renowned for. A total of 15 L-Acoustics LA8s and three L-Acoustics LA4X amplified controllers were used to power the speakers, all talking to an L-Acoustics network manager to control the EQ and time alignment. Communications were taken care of by Protec’s Freespeak ii, allowing the ten crew on comms to wirelessly communicate effectively over the entire venue. Production requested 42 radios and Protec supplied their extensive range of DP2400s to cater for this.
“In all, the venue sounded great, all sound seemed to resonate from the stage and propagate throughout the venue seamlessly. A large amount of time was spent liaising with the venue and working on Soundvision, to develop an effective system for the new super club. I was extremely happy with the results and look forward to working with the venue again in the future,” said Dan Dignan, senior sound engineer at Protec.
Elrow’s travelling road show has the reputation of being sensory and visual and Protec’s lighting department produced a colourful, punchy, totally immersive experience to complement the costumed dancers, confetti and CO2 canons. Designed by chief lighting designer at Protec, Aaron Russ, and operated by Daniel Ivanovski the show got rave reviews from the client, DJs and guests.
It was a one and a half day set up for all rigged fixtures and atmospheric effects. Equipment used included 36 Robe Pointe, 20 Robe Spikies, six Claypaky mythos, six Claypaky k10 b-eye, 12 Claypaky show batten 100, eight SGM Q7, two SGM p2, two grandMA 2 full size, two Luminex network switches, two grandMA 2 eight-port node, a wysiwyg rack, two FQ100 smoke machines, two ATMe haze generator and eight American DJ UV Cob canons. In the DJ booth Protec supplied four Source Four Minis and six SGM p5.
According to Daniel:, “The design worked rather well and the Robe Pointes being the workhorse of the show had more than enough punch to produce a very visible and powerful beam with good colours in a venue this size.”
Luckily, at this time of year the weather isn’t too hot, but protecting the lighting control gear from an ever moving sun was nonetheless a minor challenge for the lighting team particularly whilst trying to program the show. A standard challenge with outdoor events in Dubai, this was nothing new for Protec’s experienced crew.
Project manager Robert Handley recalled comments such as ‘amazing’, ‘incredible’, ‘insane’ and ‘stunning’ from the audience and both the promoter ‘elrow’ and the client, SOHO Beach Club were delighted with the energy, the fun, the music and the whole atmosphere of this epic party.
Overall, the show went super smoothly and there were lots of fist bumps and smiling faces from the production team as guests wandered out laden down with
inflatables and props in very high spirits. “It was an incredibly fun show to do and everybody is already looking forward to the next instalment in Dubai and of course, working with the promoter ‘elrow’ and the client SOHO Beach Club again,” Handley concluded.
photos: Dubai Night