HAV were chosen to provide catwalk hire, staging, lighting, audio visual & technical production services to this massive event at Manchester’s Event City exhibition centre.

After an extensive & competitive tender process, which included 3d visuals of the proposed fashion show and catwalk design & on-site meetings with our project managers, MLE selected our team to look after the technical production in the vast space that is Event City. Spanning 4 different zones which included Catwalk Show, Conference Area, Lifestyle Exhibition & Food Hall the venue was visited by over 10’000 guests over the course of the weekend.

A plethora of AV equipment hire was needed across the venue ensuring our 10 strong team of expert technicians and project managers were kept busy at all times! Services provided included AV & projection, Staging, Lighting, Audio, Camerawork, Draping & printed graphics for the catwalk area. Vision equipment, Audio, Lighting & Staging for the Conference area as well as various other AV items & on-site technical support throughout.

       AV & Projection

Twin projection screens were utilised combined with high power HD projectors to display event logos, show timetables, sponsor slides and a live camera feed. Our vision department specced professional switching equipment to keep things seamless on screen.

       Catwalk Lighting

With the catwalk in close proximity to exhibitor ‘stands’ our lighting designers’ main challenge was to create maximum atmosphere around the catwalk, without impacting on exhibitors. Our Lighting solution incorporated LED & generic fixtures to highlight the models & clothing. A secondary on stage effect lighting system was utilised comprising LED Pixels (to wash the backdrop in vivid colour for each scene) & intelligent moving heads to add atmosphere during the shows & interest to the backdrop itself. A large freestanding truss structure was specced to house the lighting as the client wanted to keep costs within budget & avoid the rigging costs associated with venues in house rigging provider.

Catwalk Backdrop

A simple white backdrop made of up set flats was used, chosen for its’ clean/crisp appearance but also because it utilised ‘Stock’ flats allowing the client to keep the costs within budget. The nature of this ‘blank canvas’ meant programmable lighting & branding could be used to add value & create a different flavour for each show.

       Sound System

HAV Supplied a large sound system for the catwalk area which had to be powerful enough for exhibitor/guest anouncements to be heard across the exhibition space. The system was also used for playback of background music as well as a variety of entertainment including live music performances, bands, comedians & Djs across the weekend. Our on site sound technicians were on hand throughout the shows to playback specific music stings & playlists chosen by each designer to represent their brand.

Conference Area

A secondary Conference area was active throughout the weekend & featured inspirational seminars advising on a variety of business topics. HAV provided staging, lighting, sound, vision equipment & technical support throughout.

HAV were selected by our event agency client to provide audio visual hire and event production services for a star studded 750 guest charity gala dinner in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Attended by the stars of Coronation Street & leading lights of Emmerdale ,The Gavin Blyth Ball is a high profile fundraising event organised to honour the memory of former Emmerdale producer Gavin Blyth. The H-AV team were delighted to be invited to provide event production services in the giant aircraft hangar that is Concorde Conference Centre.

H-AV worked in close contact with our event agency client to develop a high impact stage, audio & lighting design befitting one of the most dramatic venues in the UK.

The hangar is vast so not without its challenges from a Sound & Lighting perspective so senior project manager James Humphries was kept on his toes when implementing the final design.

The dinner comprised welcome reception where invited guests were treated to a tour of the actual plane & onboard champagne, performances from multiple acts including stars such as Kym Marsh, an auction, live band, dj & casino.

Gala Dinner Stage Set Design & Construction

Our team were tasked with providing a stage set that would look glitzy & glamorous for a high profile, star-studded event of this kind. Stock set flats were utilised to keep within budget & frame x2 rear projection screens. High power HD projectors with short throw lenses were specced to provide punchy slide visuals minimise projection distance. A central white star cloth backdrop was washed in colour by multiple LED pixels & moving heads to create the ‘wow’ factor.

Audio Visual Hire

Humphries Audio Visual supplied a ‘one source’ complete audio visual hire solution for the event including audio, lighting, video, recording, projection, sound, camera equipment & on site technical support throughout the event.

Audio Hire

With a running order tightly packed with artist performances our sound engineer Dave Farnworth provided a structured approach to rehearsals to ensure all acts were comfortable on stage. A total of 14 Yamaha Full Range boxes were deployed around the massive event space to ensure all guests experienced crystal clear sound no matter where they were sat.

Lighting Hire

Our designers programmed a beautiful show to tie in with the event colour schemes but also provide wow factor & changing scenes & moods. By combining LED pixels & LED Moving heads on a rear truss the resulting lightshow looked spectacular. Further high output LED fixtures were used around the venue to wash the walls, architecture & concorde itself, with colour.

Camerawork

With some difficult sight lines in the venue due to concorde’s wheel assembly, cabin steps & other obstructions our camera team’s live feed to screen ensured all on stage activity was visible to all member of the audience.

Star cloth Backdrop Hire

A large quantity of black twinkling star cloth drape was rigged (over 100m) using a freestanding pipe & base system to provide a backdrop to the casino area & also to split the various zones: performance/catering/entrance/reception.

Band Audio Hire

An array of Sennheiser wireless microphones were utilised to ensure

Company Director James Humphries commented:

Full Case study coming soon..