Located in Melbourne’s Federation Square, the Transport Hotel is a popular live-sports venue, with 13 screens and one mega screen in its Public Bar. When the San Francisco 49ers arrived in Melbourne last week for their historic NFL clash with the Rams at the MCG, the venue created a special experience for fans. In the week before the game, 49ers fans were able to ‘paint the town red’ as they rallied for the clash.
The event featured legendary 49ers alumni, all five Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophies, photo opportunities with Sourdough Sam and the Gold Rush, and raffles for game-day tickets and 49ers merchandise.
Light Dimensions was approached to light up the activation site in a sea of red for the week prior to the match.
“There’s a fine line between throwing a million lights at it and looking tacky, and lighting to make the venue pop,” remarked Dean Phillips, Managing Director of Light Dimensions.
The notable event was the ideal opportunity for Dean to showcase his recently purchased ShowPRO gear: 60 x Apollo battery lights, 20 x Fusion Par Q XII, 24 x Fusion Wash Q XLVIII (48), 46 x LED Par Quad 12, eight LED Par HEX7, and one Aurora Exterior IP65.
“I had to add some lights out of storage because thousands of people passed through the bar during the week,” he explained. “I didn’t want brand-new fixtures in the banquette seating, where drinks were likely to be spilt – and they were. I still had some 20-year-old ShowPRO LED Honeycombs, so I used those and told my wife, ‘We’ll just wipe off the alcohol.’ They performed brilliantly, which shows how durable ShowPRO gear is!”
Dean had to work around the venue trading all through the set-up, and Federation Square rules meant he had to pack up all 28 outdoor lights every night.
“Inside, we had to put lights discreetly around pillars and in banquettes, but outside it took three hours to set up in the morning and an hour and a half to pull down overnight,” he said.
Dean placed ShowPRO Apollo battery lights and older ShowPRO Truss Mates around the pillars, using battery-powered fixtures wherever mains power was unavailable. ShowPRO LED Par HEX7 were also used to light a couple of the pillars.
“The Apollo fixtures are excellent and offer plenty of flexibility,” Dean said. “Their compact size makes them ideal for tight spaces and uplighting, while the cable-free setup also saves labour time. Plus, they are IP65-rated, which is always useful.”
Dean used the ShowPRO Fusion PARs to light outside the venue, particularly the 49ers’ decal on the window. Some of the ShowPRO Fusion Washes were outside, with Dean using his ShowPRO LED Flood EX36 to fill out the rest.
“The colour mixing on ShowPRO FusionPARs is nice,” added Dean. “They are also punchy, have a good dimming curve on them and are IP-65 rated.”
Outside, ShowPRO LED Par Quad 12 lights lit the entrance to the venue, with more on the back wall and in the VIP room. A ShowPRO Aurora Exterior IP65 projected the 49ers logo onto the adjacent outside wall.
“The Aurora Exterior IP65 is going to be very useful in our inventory,” commented Dean. “It has an impressive output, remarkable zoom range (10°- 40°), and a robust build. The projected logo looked great.”
Inside, Dean lit the VIP Trophy Room to enhance its appearance and meet NBC and ESPN’s requirement for a 3200K colour temperature. He applied the same approach in the Locker Room, which included a media wall.
“We used ShowPRO Fusion Washes, but the lockers had reflective glass instead of the non-reflective glass originally specified, so every light created glare,” Dean added. “To minimise it, I positioned one large Fusion Wash to the side and lit from the window side, where the afternoon sun entered. Some reflection remained, but the result was much better.”
The ShowPRO Fusion Wash Q XLVIII is an IP65-rated RGBW wash light featuring snap-on beam-shaping filters, fanless thermal management and an integrated W-DMX receiver. Dean particularly values its robust build, powerful output and rich, saturated wash.
Dean commented that he has been buying from Show Technology from day one and that Paul Nicolaou always goes out of his way to advise on the best equipment for the situation at hand. On top of that, Show Technology’s quality and backup service are second to none!
