Held for the first time in South Africa, Comic-Con Africa was recently staged at the Kyalami International Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg with MGG appointed as main technical supplier. Geeks, gamers and superheroes were in their element in an enormous exhibition area hosting gaming panel discussions, cosplay contests and a chance to rub shoulders with celebrities like Travis Fimmel of Vikings fame.
MGG managed a technical set-up, that included a main stage, four pre-screening rooms, two VS gaming areas, kids’ entertainment area, an MTN outdoor stage which included a VIP and screening area, and audio for both multiple exhibition floors and the food zone. The set-up included Prolyte trussing, L-Acoustics PA and DiGiCo audio consoles – notably an SD11 at FOH in the main hall.
L-Acoustics sound reinforcement were used in all four pre-screening rooms – ARCS Wide and Focus coupled with SB18m subs were located in the largest of the four pre-screening rooms. L-Acoustics 12XTs coupled with SB18m subs were placed in the remaining three smaller pre-screening rooms.
‘Getting these shows and putting them together really excites me,’ says MGG Technical Production Manager for Comic-Con Africa, Timothy Templeton. ‘For me, eighty per cent of an event depends on pre-production planning. This is also where you rely on the crew, and we would not have been able to accomplish, what I feel was a professional and seamlessly executed event, without them. The crew are a band of brothers if you will. They have a competition culture which is great to see, and it’s all about team effort.’
Not put off by the magnitude of the event, Templeton segmented each are of the event to run independently, the crew of 35-plus knowing exactly what was required of them, from the four-day set up to running the three-day event. Attention to detail prevented any challenges on site. All equipment was labelled according to the allocated venue areas. Obtaining an extra day for rigging, made things even easier.
The main stage seated an audience of 1,000, and carried a tangible air of excitement. This was the popular platform for South African cosplayers to jump in boots, wigs, body paint and all, as they represented characters from cartoons, comics, films, TV series and video games. The main stage area included panel discussions, Q&A sessions and interviews with celebrities in the comic book industry, such as the comic book writers, illustrators and a few international stars like Kevin Sussman (The Big Bang Theory).
