10 minute read
Regional Round Up
MAESTRA GROUP LAUNCHES A SCENIC DEPARTMENT IN DUBAI
Maestra Group has been proving its clients with creative scenic services over the past few years in both London and Dubai. The development of a scenic department consolidates the company’s business model, and brings a key division of the contractor services portfolio in-house.
As well as delivering lighting, audio, video, and rigging as well as scenic elements - including the fabrication of set and staging. This latest move is a “totally logical step” confirmed Maestra Dubai’s MD Tom Clements.
The department will be headed up by Jurgens Potgieter, who brings over 10 years of practical experience in the region, having worked for several fabrication contractors. Before then, he cut his ‘production teeth’ in South Africa.
Potgieter has been deployed on many demanding and high profile shows and events, and “his wealth of talent, energy and positive personality fits perfectly with our team” said Clements.
Potgieter started his career in theatre while completing an N-Dip in Entertainment Technology, specialising in Set Design & Construction. In the intervening 12 years he has acquired some serious skills in the construction of temporary and semi-permanent structures across all genres of the entertainment, production and special projects spectrums, and he’s also worked on permanent installations. “I always strive hard to help create memorable events, productions and projects, by combining my passion and knowledge of the highest international standards and safety regulations to deliver the vision and expectations of each individual client” he commented.
Asked why he wanted to work for Maestra Group, known for their imagination, flair and being one of the youngest, fastest growing and sought-after production partners in a highly competitive market, he said: “What Tom and the team have achieved at Maestra in such a short time says a lot about their enthusiasm and aptitude for the industry.”
A new warehouse has been designed and kitted out for the exclusive use of Maestra Scenic, all geared towards providing a flexible workspace with maximum efficiency.
An initial investment in new tooling and machinery will assist with custom set and scenic requirements, and while it is envisaged that this will be a big part of the activity, there will also be a comprehensive range of standard rental items available from stock - set flats, staging units, etc. - unleashing an even wider range of costeffective solutions for any client.
This new scenic division is expected to be expanded rapidly as the company’s commercial success flourishes.
The department will focus on supporting Maestra Group’s existing business as a truly excellent single-solution provider for all scenic and technical production needs.
www.maestra-group.com
INTRODUCING PITCHBLACK
Mark Hammond a NRC level 2 rigger moved to the UAE 2 years ago working freelance both within the region and internationally. Hammond started rigging at the NEC group, part of being a house rigger at Birmingham arenas meant installing, removing and maintaining drape – and lots of it.
Hammond noticed that there didn’t seem to be any dedicated draping companies within the UAE, many AV companies’ stock small amounts of drape as part of its inventory but it’s not necessarily maintained or the primary business. After witnessing a system failure on a job in Abu Dhabi Hammond had the idea to setup Pitchblack.
He started drawing and speaking to engineers trying to find a way to develop a freestanding system that would be quick and easily installed in venues across the UAE, adaptable to various room shapes and heights, but most of all would be safe at 6m height. Pitchblack’s focus is on providing great customer service, and a quality product at an affordable price.
The beauty of black wool serge is that it’s inherently fire retardant, has great acoustic properties, is natural fibers, and it’s a sustainable product. We currently have 200m of 6m drop drape and structure and our stock of 12m drop is being sewn. Pitchblack drapes are sewn in house,
so we can customise to whatever a particular event or venue may need. We also have modular door portals to fit the drape system complete with wool serge curtains to enable the room to be blacked out.
Pitchblack officially launched on the 1 September, and has completed its first few jobs, one of which was a 160m drape and structure install complete with 4 door portal units at Manarat Al Saadiyat for People. It was so rewarding to see all of the thought and effort that went into the system design and build pay off.
www.pitchblack.ae
CHANGES AT ECLIPSE GROUP
“In a move designed to refocus the eclipse Group activities around our core business units of eclipse Staging Services, eclipse Venue Services, Stage FX and Laser FX, the decision was taken to divest our holdings in both Flair and eclipse Installations with immediate effect” said Simon Ransom, eclipse Group CEO.
As eclipse continues to reinvest and grow its market share in the Middle East region, it was decided that the time is right for Flair Event Services to branch out on its own. As a successful business and continuing under the leadership of Sameer Rahman, who has run the business as the Managing Partner since its creation in 2013, Flair will continue providing equipment and event technology services to the local market under the Flair brand.
The eclipse Installations business has been sold to the current management and will also continue to provide its consultancy and AV design and installation services to the regional market under the leadership of David Fell who has been running the business since the departure of the General Manager earlier last year. With successful projects delivered in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and active enquiries across the wider region, the Company will be moving forward rebranded as “Echo 8” joining a portfolio of companies owned and managed by Fell.
Ransom concluded by saying: “Since the passing of our founder, Mark Brown in late 2016, a reorganisation has been on the cards and it has taken this long for us to finalise our strategic path moving forward. I wish both Sameer and David well in their new adventures and look forward to potentially collaborating with them on projects in the future.”
www.eclipse.ae
GALLOWGLASS HEALTH AND SAFETY MIDDLE EAST GOES IT ALONE
Both businesses joined forces in 2017 to form a combined offering to meet the demand for events Health and Safety provision within the GCC region. After a year of consulting on a series of large-scale events, GGH&S is now ready to continue as a stand-alone entity.
GGH&S Managing Partner, Steve Kearney said: “Over the last 12 months we’ve worked for leading agencies including Jack Morton Worldwide, 45 Degrees and DAS Event - on some fantastic projects, such as the Opening Ceremony of the Dubai World Cup, the Abu Dhabi Ideas Weekend and a major car launch.
“We’ll continue to work with Fruition but have now formed Gallowglass Health and Safety Middle East as a subsidiary of our UK parent.
Our Dubai team will be closely linked to our UK head office, and with to the Gallowglass Group as a whole - which provides a broad range of international events services.”
GGH&S’ ME team is headed by Principal Consultant, Adrian Peet. He said: “We have 3 full-time advisors based here in Dubai. But we’re increasingly calling on a wider pool of visa-ready, legally-compliant consultants from our UK head office, who can support our growing international activities as and when required. Our specialist trainer, John Young, has been out recently to deliver Occupational Safety and Health training to audio specialist Delta Sound.”
Peet has expanded the consultancy’s sphere of operation into other GCC regions. Most recently he has been working at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Sports City stadium for the World Boxing Super Series: George Groves v Callum Smith. More projects have been confirmed for the run-up to Christmas and beyond.
Peet, who was responsible for delivering a number of key health and safety projects for the overlay and infrastructure of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, is also actively engaged with the Middle East Chapter of the International Live Events Association (ILEA). He is one of several local experts who have formed a working group to open a forum for the creation of event-specific approved codes of practice in the region.
www.gallowglass.com
GL EVENTS SEALS DUBAI SOUTH DEAL
GL events Middle East, regional branch of GL events Group, acknowledged the management aquisition of multipurpose event venue - E2 Dubai South Event & Exhibition Center (also known as the Dubai Airshow Site).
The state of the art venue has been developed by Dubai South with the motivation of allowing businesses in the GCC region to grow, aiming to incubate collective progression within the region.
E2 Dubai South is a short drive from the world’s largest airport in the making - Al Maktoum International Airport.
Located in Dubai South district, E2 has been developed in the premier urban project of Dubai and is home to a neighborhood that hosts landmark events such as Dubai Air Show and World Expo 2020. E2 Dubai South is an international hub for trade and commerce, developed with a specialised understanding of the requirements of international business travelers.
The name of the venue is simply inspired by its main pillars, Events + Exhibitions, summarised as E2.
The venue makes for an impactful and inspiring event space; with an exhibition space that covers more than 40,000sqm, the venue is purpose-built to cater to large-scale exhibitions, conventions and live concerts.
E2 also has more than 60,000sqm of outdoor space, created exclusively to host large equipment, including machinery, helicopters, and aircraft pads.
Benoit Beylier, Managing Director at GL events Middle East commented: “This project adds one of the world most significant landmark – Dubai South– to the GL events Venue network. As an economic platform, it is designed to support every conceivable kind of business and industry.
Today, our aim is to facilitate communication between the organisers of key international business events and to provide them with a positive experience at E2 Dubai South Event & Exhibition Center.”
www.gl-events.ae
www.gl-events-venues.com
SHOWFORCE LAYS THE SMACKDOWN IN SAUDI ARABIA
Billed as the greatest Royal Rumble in history, the annual must-watch WWE wrestling event headed to King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the 27 April 2018. Featuring no less than 50 WWE superstars, including sports entertainment juggernauts: John Cena, Randy Orton and Triple H, as well as new-era wrestling superstars, Braun Strowman, The New Day, and many more, the event was screened to the WWE universe and millions of wrestling fans around the world.
To ensure one of the biggest events in wrestling was as spectacular as it promised to be, leading display screen specialist Creative Technology tasked a team of experienced Showforce crew to assist with the load in and install of more than 1,500 linear metres of LED video screens - situated over both the main stage and the ring side stage.
Required onsite 10 days before the Royal Rumble got underway, the team worked tirelessly to ensure everything was in place for the showcase event; providing 15 crew members in total, including 4 international crew chiefs - who flew out from the UK and senior crew members from the UAE.
The Royal Rumble match itself was a huge success. A packed out arena watched Braun Strowman charge to victory to take the title, walking away with a huge trophy as well as a custom-made WWE title.
Once the fans had gone home, Showforce returned to assist the Creative Technology team with the de-rig.
www.wwe.com
www.showforce.com
SENNHEISER PRESENTS 3D AUDIO THRILLER
AS A PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION OF THE CAPTIVATING POWER OF 3D AUDIO, SENNHEISER HAS CREATED A REALISTIC 3D SOUND EXPERIENCE IN ITS SHORT FILM FINAL STOP.
Writer and director Roxanne Benjamin uses soundscape to create a thrilling atmosphere, with stunning audio recorded using Sennheiser’s Ambeo Smart Headset. The result is a gripping 3D audio thriller.
Even though director Benjamin made Final Stop without any dialog, she created an astonishingly realistic and thrilling cinematic atmosphere.
Final Stop was recorded in immersive 3D audio, using just a smartphone and recording most of the audio with Sennheiser’s Ambeo Smart Headset which was developed with A/D conversion specialist Apogee.
The incredibly realistic 3D sound recorded by the headset makes horror and shocking moments appear more intense than ever before. “Since we structured the short around the use of 3D audio, I kept the camera largely behind Phoebe (Tonkin, lead actor in the film), so that audiences really felt that fear of being followed. This was the element that struck me the most about the Ambeo Smart Headset when I was first testing it out – just how effective it could be in enhancing a narrative horror setting. “The 3D element really brings you a whole lot closer to the action and feeling like you’re right there with Phoebe as she’s experiencing this fear. It’d be fascinating to see it being used for a full thriller or horror feature,” said Roxanne Benjamin.
Uwe Cremering, Director Ambeo Immersive Audio at Sennheiser, added: “We wanted to let viewers experience the remarkable emotional quality 3D audio can lend to any film and with Final Stop, Roxanne tapped the full potential of the Ambeo Smart Headset in providing a frighteningly lifelike audio experience.”
www.sennheiser.com/finalstop
