Terry Murtha and the team at S+H Technical supplied a spectacular selection of starcloth, soft goods and video products - adding plenty of sparkle and razzmatazz - to the 2015 Herald Business Awards, which celebrated the brightest and best local business achievements in a – literally - glittering event at the Plymouth Pavilion venue in Plymouth, UK.
S+H was contacted by the event’s organiser Kate Nesbitt, who was recommended to the Ilfracombe, Devon based company by colleagues. It was the first year that Kate had organised the Awards, started in 2011 by the Plymouth Herald newspaper.
“This year the challenge was on to make it funky, fantastic and highly memorable, and I wanted to up the ante on the visual presentation” explained Kate, adding that most people regard the arena as a somewhat prosaic environment …and no-one had ever seen it transformed like this … until now!
Terry embraced the project with his characteristic enthusiasm right from the off. “It was great to be involved on several levels. Firstly because we are a based in the area and also because Kate was open to many ideas … of which we discussed several before hitting on the right mix of glamour and practicality” he stated..
On the night, the first big WOW Factor encountered by the 650 plus guests was the 12 metre long starcloth entrance through which they entered the venue. The tunnel was fully wrapped in S+H’s sumptuous red velvet Pea-Light Starcloth – the same product that has featured on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
This semi magical experience really helped to get everyone in the mood for the evening ahead!
As they exited the tunnel into the main Pavilion auditorium, people then stepped onto an area of S+H’s GTEK 20mm video floor, which came alive with animated sponsors logos and images from in and around the bustling city and port of Plymouth.
GLUX is a lightweight, ultra-thin high density product that is ideal for covering large areas and is easy to rig quickly.
Inside the arena, the back and sides of the stage were masked with classic S+H black Pea-light Starcloth which has a rapid response time that gives a range of effects, from a gentle twinkling to lightning fast strobing.
The front skirt of the stage was clad with S+H’s 12 mm pitch GLUX LED panels, which were fed with the same video content as the floor, creating a nice continuity between the two surfaces. As awards were announced during the presentation, the relevant sponsor logos swooshed across the front of the stage with great impact.
All content was programmed and run from a Laptop running ArKaos Grand VJ software. 
The VIP bar and lounge area was also dressed with red Pea-light starcloth, and an additional drop wrapped around the back of the arena.
The pièce de résistance, however, was the installation of 32 x Pea-light Strings – containing 3000 lamps - which created a fabulously spangley illuminated tented ceiling effect going from the centre of the room out to the sides, covering the entire arena.
Using the same LED sources as the S+H Pea-light Starcloth, the Pea-light Canopy is perfect for high ceilinged rooms. Starting on a centrally positioned ring flown in the roof, the Pea-light strings gravitate outwards to the edges of the room, where they are secured to custom scaffolding running along the tops the walls.
This ingenious visual masterstroke can reduce the most cavernous of spaces … to intimate, inviting and comfortable environments.
Kate was completely thrilled with the results, “It was great working with Terry – he presented endless creative suggestions all of which were extremely flexible, and listened carefully to what we wanted to achieve. His knowledge and application of the products completely transformed our event and also people’s perception generally of the Business Awards moving forward”. She adds that the S+H crew were “Brilliant” to work with on-site.
The response and feedback from all involved has been completely positive and – having now raised the bar and set new standards of production for this and other Herald events - Kate is looking forward to working on more special events and projects with S+H.
Photos: John Allen