Sound Division provides gourmet service for French food & wine industry
Sound Division recently provided sound, lighting, effects and DJ services for 40th anniversary celebrations of the promotion of the French food and wine industry in the UK. Hosted by Sopexa, an agency that specialises in marketing and PR for the French food & wine industry, the event was held at the Commonwealth club in London and targeted two hundred industry professionals including journalists, importers and buyers as well as officials from the French embassy in London.
According to Sound Division’s Chris Baxter who designed the system, this was one of Sound Division’s more unusual events. “We do a lot of work in the corporate market, but I’ve never worked with quite so much food and drink on display that was not meant for consumption! Actually, jesting aside, I enjoyed the challenge, because lighting the food displays took some considerable expertise to create the right feel, and the client was very strict about presentation. In addition to this, the rig time was very tight. We had to programme, set up and cable down in just three hours, so there wasn’t a lot of margin for error.”
The cheese and wine display was set up in a very white room, so Chris opted for white scaffolding bars and tank traps to create the right look. Uplighters were Par64 chrome floor cans with narrow beam lamps, while in the main room a bright pink high temperature gel (courtesy of Gradav Services) produced a stunning effect for the other displays. In addition to the lighting effects, Sound Division also provided DJ services in the form of Elliot Patterson who played a lounge-style set, as well as the requisite audio system and staging. Dominic Wood was in charge of operating the lighting for the event.
Chris Baxter was delighted with the way the event ran. “For a start, it was nice to be involved in something a little out of the ordinary, and we had a great team to rig the job. The whole thing went really well, and the client was delighted with the results, so I think everyone deserves a pat on the back!”
January 2004