AV Direct were involved in an absolutely splendid wedding celebration that took place at the Urban Tree in Johannesburg this month. Assisting the wonderful team at Wedding Concepts, we managed to create an absolute Royale scenery for this beautiful couple!

A gloss cladded white stage was erected for the bridal area. Above you can view the decor and cake chosen to suit the couple’s style! Beautiful hanging pictures also completed the decoration.

A large white dance floor was setup in the center of this amazing venue. Here you can see the stunning table decor chosen for the wedding.

We assisted with the supply of audio equipment, backline for the band and over 60 fixtures of intelligent lighting, from Versa-Lite LED cans to BriteQ Moving Head LED lights. All audio inside was controlled using our Soundcraft Si Compact Digital Mixer.

We had a stage setup outside for the band during the ceremony. Below you can see photo’s of this setup. A custom built DJ surround set was covered in elegant white fabric just for this wedding!

Here we setup a white-cladded stage under the bedouin tent. All backline was provided and audio was controlled using a Yamaha M7 Digital mixing console.

A big thank you to all the suppliers and crew involved in making this wedding a huge success! Andre Naude at our JHB branch was fantastic, while Crystal Sound who delivered all the back-line were great to work with.  Lastly, a big thank you to the team at Wedding Concepts and Sound Concepts for always making there events so extraordinarily amazing! Here are some more pics for you to browse! Thanks for reading our blog!

Our client issued out a massive thank you to all the suppliers involved:

Dear Kachi & Agbon’s Dream Team
 
I have to send this as a group mail as every single one of you had an enormous and uniquely important role to play in Saturday’s wedding and I honestly could not have done it without every single one of you. It has been an unbelievable experience since Kachi & Agbon first booked Wedding Concepts, but this wedding will definitely go down in the history books – and my own personal history books – as one of the most organised yet chaotic and memorable weddings ever!
 
I will send emails to every single one of you to thank you personally for your role later this week and to tie up any loose ends that may still be around – but as we all collectively breath a huge sigh of relief now that this wedding is over – I really just wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all your hard work, loyalty and dedication to this wedding. I really do appreciate it.

Kind regards,

Kate Rawbone

We were proud to supply audio visual equipment for the Hotel Investment Conference Africa 2013. The conference took place at the beautiful Elangeni Hotel which was transformed into a 200 strong conference session over two days, it included panel speakers from hotel owners, brokers, financiers and lawyers.

We setup two large-format projection screens using Christie LHD700 Full HD video projectors. The stage was setup with a 6m x 3.4m branded backdrop, set light-boxes and fold-back comfort LCD monitors for the presenters. A 5-way delegate microphone system was installed on the stage which gave the panel control over the debating and Q&A sessions.

At front-of-house we setup using the Analog Way Pulse 300 digital scaler for HD switching between presentation and live video feed. Lighting dimmers were controlled using Martin Light-Jockey system while audio processing was done using Soundcraft’s GB4 16-Channel mixing console.

There was also an audio feed provided for the international broadcast, as well as, staging and sound for the evening’s entertainment at Docklands.

For more information please visit: http://hica.co.za/2013/

AV Direct had the pleasure of working alongside Wedding Concepts in creating a fantastic “nightclub” style dance area for the wedding celebrations of Suzi and Steve at Le Franschhoek Hotel.

All photo’s by Tasha Seccombe.

First, we designed stage flat panels covered in black and gold fabric. These were setup around the venue and were fitted with flat screen tv’s running a video loop. Next, was to create a DJ world area with lighting, sound and sets. AV Direct also provided Pioneer DJ equipment to meet the international DJ’s requirements.

Mirror balls were hung from the two chandeliers, while we added a red carpet, stanchions and some outdoor lighting to light up the beautiful vineyards at Le Franschhoek Hotel!

There are more photo’s for you to view by clicking on this link below:

http://tashaseccombe.com/index.php/suzi-steve/

AV Direct provided dance floors, lighting, dj equipment and audio for this special wedding celebration at the beautiful Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West.

A polystyrene cut-out of the couple’s initials was supplied which formed a backdrop behind the DJ area.

Here are a few more photo’s from the night!

“I will be your voice” is a wildlife conservation campaign based in Cape Town, raising support and awareness for animals  and people in  need of a voice. To mark World Environment Day and In aid of the Chipembere Rhino Foundation, a prestigious Gala evening is being held on Saturday, 8 June at the Mount Nelson Hotel. Freshlyground will be entertaining the guests while well known TV vet and ‘Animal Planet’ personality, Dr. William Fowlds is the guest speaker.  Dieter Voigt of Pasella is MC for what will be an entertaining and informative event including a three course dinner, art auction and concert  in support of a very worthy and genuine cause.

Companies and individuals in Cape Town are encouraged to take action and join the event by booking tables and tickets. Opportunities exist for companies to display their logos and advertise their involvement at the event.
For bookings please contact Ina Viljoen on: 0834634090 or visit the website: www.iwillbeyourvoice.co.za for more information.

We at AV Direct are asking our clients to support in this worthy cause by booking a table for the evening and sharing in this wonderful campaign.

We were proud to assist Itron once again, in making their 2013 Africa Users Conference a success. Taking place at the Vineyard Hotel in Claremont, we suggested a full set backdrop design using our modular sets and light boxes. A large cut-out of the Itron logo was attached to the set as a real feature behind the white cladded gloss stage.

The Christie LHD 700 projectors were used to give a full HD quality image onto the screens. Also attached were 51″ Plasma screens in high-definition.

Live camera feed was setup using Sony’s HDR High-Definition camera. All lighting consisted of BriteQ LED lighting and Profile Source 4 Spots for stage presenter lighting.

Translations booths and interpretation equipment were supplied by Congress Rental, while 2 x LG 60″ Plasma screens were setup outside for international delegates.

The main expo area downstairs consisted of 8 LCD screens, an audio station and complete custom shell wall design provided by Oasys Innovations.

Each AV workstation consisted of 40″ LCD Screen, laptop and wireless keyboard and mouse systems, sourced by AV Direct. On the last night, the set was also used for entertainment which featured Three Tons of Fun LIVE!

The 2013 Itron conference was a stunning success and we look forward to going even better next year! # EventsWithEnergy

AV Direct setup a large outside area consisting of AV, Lighting and Audio for the entertainment and lunch sessions each day. Cozi Hiring services setup two large bedouin tents, while AV Direct and Instant Flooring provided event flooring around the pool area.

The main attraction for the event was always going to be the AV water screen designed by our research and development team here at AV Direct. The pump had to be re-designed and fitted to set according to the swimming pool size. The surface area of the water screen was roughly around 5m x 18m in size.

Once setup, all to do was rig projection, laser and lighting. This would be focused at night. Here are the results:

Two Christie LX 700 projectors were setup on either side of the water screen, along with BriteQ Spectre 3D lasers and LED spot lighting. BriteQ BT91 Wash lights were used to light up the inside of the bedouin tents creating a stunning ambient effect around the venue. Projection and laser was controlled using Pangolin Laser software, while audio was controlled through our Soundcraft SI Compact digital console. The lighting controller used was the new Avolites Titan Mobile desk.

In the boardroom at the Vineyard Hotel, a second set backdrop was setup along with recessed screen and logo cut-out. Rear-projection was used as space was limited in the front of the set.

A separate live-feed was sent from this room to the interpreters room across the hallway. Stage presenter and wash lighting was setup to enhance the room.

New Equipment Arrivals at AV Direct

Black Magic SmarviewDUO

Along with our new HD Projectors and Switchers, we have also purchased four 51″ Full HD Plasma’s and two 60″ Full HD Plasma’s. Pair these beauties up with the projectors and switchers and we are able to offer you a Full HD solution. The quality is absolutely stunning. Added to that, we have invested in fibre optic cabling* that allows for the output of this high resolution video to larger distances. Great for live video feeds from camera’s and sending signal to breakaway rooms in larger conference situations.

*Due to the nature of digital signals and impedance of copper, fibre optic conversion technology is the best connection medium for DVI and HDMI signal extension. Fortunately, with digital video, both technologies use the same connector type. The DVI/HDMI digital signals are both high-speed and high-bandwidth. Typically, 1080p signal would mean 1920×1080 pixels refreshing over 40 times per second. At this high rate of speed and large bandwidth of data, impedance caused by copper begins to cause signal loss – which results in digital artifacts, pixilation and/or no picture (blue screen) – if the distance is longer than 15 feet.

720p and 1080i are better off with fibre optic connections if the distance is longer than 25 feet.

AV Direct had the opportunity to assist Wedding Emporium and provide intelligent lighting for the wedding of Anrie & Walter Laurie on 16th March 2013. We supplied Martin Professional MAC250 Entour moving head spots, along with a blend of BriteQ moving head spot and wash lights. Using quad truss as lighting stands these were placed in the corners of a marquee to give an overall colour wash to the venue.

A beautiful Gobo design was created for the couple by the wedding designers, Wedding Emporium, this Gobo was projected using our Mac250 moving head light.

Special thanks to Guy Granger from Wedding Emporium for his kind words after the event:

“Hi Chris,  Your staff were great – very friendly and efficient. The set-up was easy, and they were very neat. The lighting effects were exactly what we wanted. The client was delighted!”