Taking place at London’s Tate Modern, OMEGA recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of its iconic Speedmaster watch with a star-filled event. The Tate’s Turbine Hall was transformed to give guests a truly sensory experience, with a centrepiece of 60 important Speedmaster models ranging from 1957 to 2017. The event was designed and produced by Bureau Betak and Picnic Productions and they approached White Light to provide the lighting services.
The event was hosted by Professor Brian Cox at London’s Tate Modern. George Clooney and Buzz Aldrin were the guests of honour at the “Lost in Space” evening; a theme which paid tribute to the Speedmaster’s legacy in space exploration.
For WL, the event was overseen by Senior Account Manager Dominic Yates and Project Manager Martin Strods. Dominic comments: “We have worked at the Tate on numerous occasions, due to our status as an approved production supplier. Our task for the evening, as directed by Bureau Betak, was to essentially transform it into a completely different venue. Following the lighting design from Philippe Cerceau at Clair Obscur, we had to turn the space it into something that was ‘out-of-this-world’; fitting with the evening’s theme”.
Alongside Dominic and Martin, WL had a crew of eight technicians onsite to provide the technical support. Dominic adds: “The evening took place in the Turbine Hall which is a vast space. We spent two days setting up the equipment, ensuring that every area became part of the futuristic feel that needed to be pervaded throughout”.
To achieve this, WL draw on its extensive inventory. This included 64 x Clay Paky Sharpy Spots, 20 x Clay Paky Mythos, 30 x Martin Mac Aura XBs, 10 x Martin MAC Viper Performances, 12 x Martin MAC Viper Washes, 48 x Ayrton Arcaline, 24 x Robert Juliet Dimmable Fluorescents and 6 x Arri 2K Fresnels. This was all controlled by a Grand MA 2 Fullsize and Lite Control System.
Guests on the evening included Pixie Lott, Ellie Golding, David Haye, Gemma Arterton and Liv Tyler. Following a series of talks and presentations, the event concluded with a rendition of David Bowie’s classic Space Oddity by ESKA. Once the event had finished, WL had to degrig overnight to ensure that the space was ready to be used the very next morning.