ABU DHABI, UAE — The 2017 International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) took place in Abu Dhabi Feb. 19-23, including an elaborate combination of musical and military spectacles with a performance stage measuring 250 by 60 meters used for a dramatic portrayal of live combat. Protec and various subcontractors supported the event for a third time.
More details from Protec (www.productiontec.com):
Protec delivered the most successful opening ceremony production for IDEX in the exhibition’s history, as this unique and exciting show, breaks all records. As events go, there is probably no other theatrical production in the world that can boast the kind of special effects, choreography with military personnel and assets and scenic staging sets that all get thrown into a 250m x 60m performance stage that is built from ground up on a car park that is arranged into an action packed and engaging show for a live audience.
The show kicked off with a musical tribute to the nation’s Emirati heritage, as well as a performance by Russia’s Presidential marching band. An intense combat scenario followed in which full movie grade special effects (including high grade vehicle hits, land fireballs and debris explosions, rock falls, bullet hits, water explosions, etc) were engaged. It mimicked a life-like battle scenario that involved fighter jets and attack helicopters flying by, military tanks and fast moving armored vehicle pursuits in challenging surroundings and terrain, a bespoke working train and submarine built entirely by Protec as well as soldiers in engaging “firefights”. It was a technology demonstration worth the dedicated staging set that Protec built up for the show, which left audiences and special guests struck in awe on all five days this show was run.
The first day began as the formal opening ceremony, which was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; Crown Princes of all the emirates; defense ministers and senior military officers from 57 nations, head of delegates and other senior officials.
Guests awaiting the official opening were treated to displays from Emirati military and police bands as well as over 400 traditional dancers who also paraded the flags of the 57 nations participating at IDEX to welcome them as part of their choreographed heritage sequence.
Following the arrival of the Royal Party and the playing of the UAE national anthem, the Presidential Regiment and Orchestra of Russia performed an impressive rifle drill sequence as a prelude to the capability demonstration.
This year’s live military demonstration comprised of a breath-taking, all-action display that highlighted the capabilities of many divisions of the UAE Armed Forces. The fictitious scenario designed, developed, directed and delivered by Protec for its client IDEX, involved a setting in a ‘war torn mountain nation’ where a ‘militia’ group who have been inflicting disorder, attack a long awaited humanitarian aid train, hijack a ship loaded with chemicals and further enhance the threat with another sub-surface menace in the form of an armed hostile submarine detected out at sea but headed toward the ‘chemical plant’ at the base of the mountains on the banks of the inlet.
The story plays out the rapid response to the militia’s assaults, where the ‘friendly forces’ mount attacks on militia forces from air, land and sea. Leclerc tanks, BMP-3 armored vehicles and other infantry fighting vehicles engage in intense battles and assault militia positions, while Blackhawk and Apache helicopters provide air cover. Special Forces storm the hijacked vessel from fast boats, while others arrive by Chinook to helo-cast into the creek before coming ashore. Mirage 2000 and F-16 fighters provide air support for the operation.
The story continues to play out how the militia are overwhelmed by the friendly forces with specialist route-proving and CBRN vehicles deployed to detect and negate IED threats, as well as to take samples to ensure that there is no chemical threat. But even as friendly forces take control of the situation, the submarine threat manifests itself. Friendly Navy Panthers and a Super Puma arrive to counter the submarine, which has been tracked by the Super Puma using its dipping active sonar scan equipment.
As the submarine surfaces, its crew surrender to friendly assault forces. When the militia threat seemed finally countered, to everyone’s shock, the Chemical Plant’s emergency sirens go off with the factory workers running out in panic. The militia’s chief then emerges just as the friendly forces seal off the chemical plant’s entrance with a precision airstrike by F16 jets. As the militia chief tries to escape, his vehicle is lead into a trap by the friendly forces and eventually taken out by Leclerc tanks to bring to an end the militia threat. To bring the spectacle to a fitting finale, the MB339 aircraft of the UAE national aerobatic display team, Al Fursan, perform their trademark flypast streaming the national colors behind them as a salute to the UAE Armed Forces.
IDEX, the main event organizer in conjunction with ADNEC & the UAE Armed Forces, used Protec to produce and build the entire temporary venue for a show that was complicated and challenging. Eddie Andradé, the show’s creative director explains, “this show involves jets and helicopter fly pasts that have to be timed to the precise second to match up with the action sequences on the staging area performed by military tanks and armored vehicles, infantry, weapons systems, special effects that include large pyro explosions on land and on the mountains, bullet rips, water explosions, vehicle explosions, etc.” He continues, “The entire show has to be timed to perfection and this involves intense coordination between the show caller, stunt director and choreographer, special effects crew, stage managers, video, audio, cameras, the Navy, the Land Forces, the pilots, the Airport, the air bases, air traffic control, road traffic control, the police and civil defense.”
The scenic design was conceptualized by Protec and the build of the venue and staging areas involved specialists road surfacing and scaffolding companies that were sub-contracted by Protec. The performers that only consisted of local military personnel had to be trained to act and were given specific direction for every move made, in order for the show to be exciting, fast paced yet safe. Coordination was the key between all these drivers and performers. A clear and precise planning method with all the relevant documents that included structural drawings, artist impressions, evacuation plans, contingency plans, build and rehearsal schedules, pre-filming, military training, etc., all contributed to a smooth and efficient venue build and the actual show itself which was watched by thousands of international dignitaries, media, schools and colleges, members of royal families of the UAE, including the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Ruler of Dubai.
To deliver this show, Protec was commissioned to use the outdoor car park of the ADNEC Exhibition Centre to build a temporary staging venue with an area of 250m x 60m. Another 100m on either side of the staging area was used as backstage areas for the performers and vehicles, including all the required plant, ablution units, pathways, holding areas, production offices, etc.
Protec’s founder and CEO — Stephen Lakin, was in charge of building the entire scenic set, staging area terrain as well as the props, landscaping and paint finishing. “Under the temporary venue that Protec built, were the exhibition center’s utilities and drainage systems which had to be protected from the weight of the military vehicles some of which weighed in excess of 60 tons. Therefore it had to be built up to 1m above the existing surface, graded up with sand, road base and tarmac/asphalt”, said Lakin. In total over 6500 tons of sand, roadbase and tarmac was used to build up the bespoke designed surface to suit the show and creative delivery. Protec also built a temporary 65m long x 30m wide x 1m high ‘lake’ which held 2 million liters of water on which jet boats and a submarine were run to get involved in the action. Lakin adds, “We built the artificial lake directly on the car park tarmac upon which heavy duty water proof protective liners were laid out to hold the water in. We placed concrete blocks along the edges to contain the water and liners and we finished it off with props, artificial greenery and landscaping that was laid out on the banks of the water feature. We added working waterfalls that we built into the mountain set along with artificial greenery to complete the scenic visual.”
Protec’s staging department led by its HOD — Matthew Lakin, built temporary wooden structures with a high standard of artistic paint finishing to resemble aged village houses, electric pylons, a mountain military outpost with a rotating radar antenna were added. A 100m long railway track that was shipped from the UK was assembled and put together on site which was then complimented by a ‘railway station’ and a working train that was built out of timber and metal frames and run using a jeep to power the train on. Protec then built a submarine that was powered with a custom designed motor pulley system. The submarine was built with steel frames and timber and had room for 6 crew in it, as well as a working hatch for the crew to emerge out of it on the lake during the show to join the action.
A complete asphalt road network with road markings, road signs, artificial greenery, road humps finished off with a rock face artistic paint finish were added as obstacle challenges for the vehicles, each capable of taking up to 110 tons completed the vehicle and personnel performance area.
The mountains themselves were built out of base scaffold structures with carpet fascia that was painted to resemble rocky and moss/grass covered mountains and finished off with artificial greenery and landscaping. The mountains also had to be strong enough to withstand powerful pyro explosions at various heights, soldiers’ abseiling, zip lining and a lot of personnel movement. Over 400 tonnes of ballast was used to secure the structures which worked well with the high and dangerous wind speeds experienced especially during the build-up.
Two 16m x 9m LED screens were built into the upstage mountain structures with access to work behind them. “The venue we built looked as realistic as possible with high attention to details in order to look good even without any action on stage in case visitors stepped out for a view or a break from the actual exhibition,” added Lakin.
Protec also provided the complete AV and audio requirements for the show. The audio package included 40 x L-acoustics K2 in blocks of 4 ground stacked with L-acoustics SB28 subs positioned between each set of two K2 stacks. Protec’s head of Audio — Ed Ross explained, “We ran a dual redundant fiber network using Digico racks running digital outs and Optocore Sane units running analogue outputs to the LA8 amplifiers, this complemented our use of the SD10 mixing desk with SD-RE redundant engine which meant we could lose kit or connections anywhere in the network and not lose audio or control at all.” Ross continued, “For communications we used a Clearcom matrix and a selection of control panels, helix net belt backs and Motorola digital radios, these were integrated with Riedel RiFace units for seamless communication across platforms. The stage management were very much mobile across the entire site around large metal structures and tanks in a high noise environment so using digital radios with isolated headsets was the perfect solution for making sure there were no signal dropouts and every cue would be heard. The sound effects and music all came from Mac laptops running qlab and dante straight into the Digico SD-rack.”
When asked about the process of creating a show like this, Andradé said, “This is a very unique show. It’s not as simple as using your imagination and delivering an action movie styled show because it also has to be realistic in the sense that being a military show demonstration, it needed to involve military procedures and methods, especially considering the fact that this show is watched by some very senior military personnel who visit from across the globe. At the end of the day, this is not just delivering what we want but delivering what the client requires and expects with strong creative input from us. This calls for some serious research and coordination. I do admit that having done this show twice before in 2013 and 2015, the experience and knowledge gained also helped. From a creative standpoint, we had already done a desert theme and a port theme so this time had to be in a completely different setting. So mountains it was this time. Once we had the setting, we had to develop the storyline. The way this part works is that we develop the creative storyline and then work out the details with the Armed Forces representatives to ensure that whatever is being created and developed is also practical and most importantly — safe for them to perform live. This relates to all aspects — personnel movement, vehicle movement, aircrafts, etc. We have to remember that this show is performed entirely by the UAE military personnel…no professional actors or stuntmen or stunt drivers.”
Right from the start, the committee that comprised of senior military representatives, ADNEC senior executives & IDEX senior officers and staff that formed the Steering Committee for IDEX along with Protec, ensured the whole process was smooth by working together as a unified team including brainstorming sessions, regular inspections and coordination with all the relevant authorities. The show was watched by millions of television viewers (via live TV broadcast), social media and visitors and thousands of guests actually watching from the grandstand (packed to 5000 capacity on each of the five show days). It was a huge success in terms of venue build, the staging, sets, backstage areas, holding areas, special effects and the spectacular performances as well.
The venue took Protec 55 days to build, ensuring all the elements that were used to build it up were properly set up and would take the wear and tear for the duration of the 5 shows as well as the three weeks of training and rehearsals.
After the show, Protec de-rigged the entire temporary venue and cleared the site completely in 13 days and eventually handed back the site in exactly the same condition as we received it which was an important client requirement. The complete production for the IDEX 2017 Opening Ceremony was, according to the client and event organizers (IDEX LLC, GHQ and ADNEC), the best they had seen and experienced in the exhibition’s history which didn’t just meet the brief but went well beyond expectations.
Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Group CEO of ADNEC had this to add: “Thank you very much on a successful IDEX, which for ADNEC and Abu Dhabi, was the most successful ever IDEX in its history. This year’s show has broken all records, including reaching more visitors than previous years. Working with you all at Protec, was a pleasure for not only myself; but for all my team, who mentioned that it was a delight to work with such a professional and well organized and structured organization. I am sure the stress behind the scenes was well worth it in the end. What a marvellous Opening Ceremony and each day I watched the performance, I noticed even more intricate details to the show. The opening ceremony ran as smoothly as what I was hoping for and my expectations were not only met, but were exceeded.”
When asked about what could be in store for 2019 for the next show, Lakin smiles, “That would be telling. We already have a few ideas but you would have to wait till the show is delivered to find out what comes next but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to win it first.”
For video go to: https://youtu.be/BEgdDwi5-QA
