Presentation Rentals at Led Zeppelin launch

17 October 2012

UK - South London-based technical production specialist Presentational Rentals (PR) supplied all technical elements for the recent London launch of rock legends' Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day movie - featuring their one-off 2007 reunion concert at London's O2 Arena.

PR supplied lighting, audio and staging for the high profile press event staged in the Ballroom of the Northumberland Hotel, just off Trafalgar Square. It was attended by the three surviving members of the band and the world's media.

PR's Ian Coull designed the set and lighting scheme after taking a brief from the client.

It featured an eye-catching three tiered stage with seven metre high backdrop covered in the album / DVD cover artwork, featuring a large Zeppelin airship hovering above a London cityscape pastiche in a bright orange and red sky.

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and Paul Jones sat below this and answered questions from the press following a special media screening of the two hour movie directed by production industry video guru and visionary, Dick Carruthers.

The lighting for the event recreated the ambience of the album cover, illuminating the venue's roof in rich saturated orange. This was achieved using Robe LEDWash 600s to bathe both the ceiling and walls around the room in the 'signature' orange as well as a series of matching and contrasting colour looks.

Clay Paky Sharpies along the back of the stage emulated the yellow searchlight effects blasting up towards the Zeppelin as it floated listlessly above the city. Martin MAC 250s were used to pick out a large scaffolding rigged sign spelling 'Led Zeppelin'.

Profile luminaires were used to key light the band plus various other banners around the room.

All lighting was controlled via a Chamsys MaqicQ MQ100 console from PR.

A very neat d&b T10 audio system with T-SUBS proved a perfect sonic solution, arranged in a ground stacked line array, powered by d&b D12 amps and mixed through a Yamaha LS9 console. PR also supplied radio and lapel mics.

Their new XTA DS 8000 distribution amplifier provided clean multiple audio feeds to the amassed camera crews.

The entrance of the Ballroom for the Celebration Day event was separated from the main presentation area by a partition wall so the backdrop was not immediately visible when press first entered, retaining a nice element of surprise.

Says Ian Coull, "We were all very pleased to be involved in a prestigious event like this. Time was tight, and our design had to be flexible enough to accommodate last minute requests and alterations as things evolved in the up-to-the-minute style of all high profile press events."

The fact that PR could supply all technical elements required also resulted in a cost-effective and efficient solution for the client.

(Jim Evans)