Page 80 - Protec PR Book Volume 2

38
TECH PROFILE
He continued: “This also involves intense coordination between the show caller, stunt director and choreographer, special effects crew, stage managers, video, audio, cameras, the Navy, the Land Forces, the pilots, the airport and air bases, air traffic control, road traffic control, the police and civil defence.”
The scenic design was conceptualised by Protec and the build of the venue and staging areas involved specialist road surfacing and scaffolding firms that the company sub- contracted. The performers, consisting of local military personnel, had to be trained to act and were given specific direction for every move made. A precise planning method with all the relevant documents had to be undertaken to ensure an efficient build and show, which included structural drawings, artist impressions, evacuation plans, contingency plans, build
and rehearsal schedules, pre-filming, and military training.
As well as the venue, which was built on top of the ADNEC Exhibition Centre’s 250m x 60m outdoor car park, Protec had another 100m on either side to be used as backstage areas for the performers and vehicles, including all the required plant, ablution units, pathways, holding areas, and production offices.
Protec’s founder and CEO, Stephen Lakin, was in charge of building the entire scenic set, staging area terrain as well as the props, landscaping and paint finishing. “The exhibition centre’s utilities and drainage systems that were underneath the temporary venue had to be protected from the weight of the military vehicles – some of which were in excess of 60 tonnes. Therefore it had to be built up to 1m above the existing surface and graded up with sand, road base and tarmac / asphalt,” he said. In total, over 6,500 tonnes of sand, roadbase and tarmac was used to build up the bespoke designed surface to suit the show and creative delivery. Protec also built a temporary
65m long x 30m wide x 1m deep ‘lake’ that held 2 million litres of water and created a space for the jet boats and submarine to get involved in the action.
Protec’s staging department, led by its HOD Matthew Lakin, built temporary wooden structures with a high standard of artistic paint finishing
to resemble aged village houses, electric pylons, a mountain military outpost and a rotating radar antenna. A 100m long railway track that was shipped from the UK was assembled on-site and complemented by a ‘railway station’ and a working train made from timber and metal frames and run using a Jeep. Protec then built
a submarine that was powered with a custom designed motor pulley system. The submarine was built with steel frames and timber and had room for six crew in it, as well as a working hatch for the crew to emerge out of it on the lake during the show to join the battle.
“The venue we built looked as realistic as possible with high attention to detail in order to look good even without any action on stage.”
Stephen Lakin, CEO, Protec
ME