The launch of Transnet’s much-talked-about R300 billion ‘Market Demand’ strategy incorporated one of the largest LED screens on the market – a DigiLED 6mm pitch indoor screen.

Supplied by AV Systems, the screen measured 12.8m wide x 2.7m high and cloaked the full width of the stage to make for a truly captivating backdrop.
The screen was made from 48 “fast-rig’ digiLED frames each measuring 800mm wide x 900mm high and weighing in at 40kg. Key to AV Systems’ choice of a video screen was resolution and the digiLED proved to be the best option with a high resolution of 2048 x 432.

“The resolution of the screen is very impressive and it was exactly what the client wanted. Another beauty is that with LED you do not have to worry about lighting as you would with other screens,’ explains Denzil Smith of AV Systems.

The screen is part of the digiLED Tile series which is manufactured by UK-based company DisplayLED. With its “fast-rig’ frames weighing in at 23kg per square metre, the screen is hailed as one of the lightest rental options in the industry. It has also been praised for its ability to serve power. For this particular event; a 32 amp, three-phase power supply was used.

AV Systems also used two Barco 14K HD projectors (supplied by MJ Event Gear) to beam PowerPoint graphics to two side screens. Hailed as “the quietest 14 000 lumens native HD projector on the market today’, the 14K HD projectors are optimised for wide screen applications which demand – not only high brightness – but also extremely low noise and an ultra-long lamp lifetime. There were two more portrait screens on the sides, which used two Christie Roadster 8k HD projectors.

All the content was loaded into Dataton’s flagship multi-display production and playback system Watchout 5 and fed into a Folsom Encore unit which controlled all the screens allowing Smith to send camera content and PowerPoint presentations to desired screens.

MJ Event Gear designed the set and supplied audio and lighting as well as the stage. The set was built by Dream Sets.

Lighting and sound

Johnny Scholtz’s lighting design included 14 Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWash lights, two Robe MMXs, four Clay Paky Sharpy’s, 24 Thomas Pixelpar90 LED par cans and two Robe DT 5000s. Control was done on a Grand MA 1 full-size console. A d&b audiotechnik system was used for sound with four Q10s, four Q-subs and two T10s as fills. FOH control was done on a Yamaha LS9 console.