Hackney-On-Sea!

How on earth do you bring the beach to Hackney? That’s what our client asked, as they wanted to thank 150 students by way of having a beach party.

We achieved the idea by erecting a 21m x 12m marquee on the multi-use games area, and fitting a sand-coloured carpet before building the 10m wide x 2.8m high beach hut backdrop at the far gable end. Once our power, audio and lighting FX requirements had been connected, the bunting and life-sized seagull dressings were strung and hung from the marquee trusses.

To complete the picture, giant ‘British seaside’ props were fitted into every available space around the perimeter to add dramatic impact, and to offer some ‘fun-of-the-fair’ games entertainment too.

tressel tables at beach party with bunting

And finally, to bring a real sense of being at the seaside, we played a looped background sound effect of seagulls screeching, waves crashing and children playing. Now that was how to bring the seaside to Hackney!

Winter Wonderland

Whenever there’s a need to bring happiness and cheer to all, perhaps there’s nothing better than a bit of festive spirit being conveyed through the medium of a Winter Wonderland setting.

Here, at this covered roadway venue – open to the elements at each end – we created a truly spectacular scene, full of vibrant colours within a rich tapestry of forest, mountain and winter chill. Using large fully-dressed artificial trees standing in front of a printed backdrop, and some brilliant life-size props, we transformed the otherwise bare architectural surroundings into a dramatic recreation of a wintry Christmas scene.

The LED lighting, positioned inside the length of the glass-walled bridge, coupled with the large mirror-ball suspended from the 7m high glass roof – which projected a blizzard effect onto the walls and ground – added a genuine sense of movement all round. Strings of pea lights were fitted to the underside of the glass roof, and, to help bring that sense of height and scale to the space, we added large illuminated snowflakes from drop-down wires at a variety of heights over the space.