Dragonflies and Astronauts featuring The Parlotones’ live 3D international broadcast which took place at The Teatro at Montecasino, Johannesburg on 16 July, broke many barriers and claimed several firsts for South Africa.
Show director Eban Olivier, who worked on this project with Danie Van Der Heever from Catalyst Entertainment, is highly enthusiastic. Not only was this the first live 3D production in South Africa, but also the first live global broadcast by a band in 3D. It was also the first live Internet broadcast by a South African artist or group on the social networking site Facebook.
Says Olivier: “This was the first time that I directed a theatre production that took on a music video approach,’ says Olivier. “Halfway through the run I reminded myself that this was actually a 3D experience that we designed for theatre as well. The Parlotones were on top form as was the crew. All the 3D equipment behaved and it was clear that we had made the right decision to go with the Pro Ultra rigs and Alfacam’s OB30.’
Executive producers for the show Doug Stanley from Ridgeline in the US and Sovereign Entertainment, the band management and record label, were equally ecstatic. “I wasn’t sure that we were successful until many hours after the show, when our programme was re-broadcast when a re-broadcast hadn’t even been planned,’ says Stanley. “It was then that I knew we had succeeded and exceeded our expectations at DirecTV.’
The only mixed feeling Olivier has stems from the fact that the theatre community criticised the stage show. “They clearly did not agree with us pushing the bar on the theatre end, but six sold-out nights and standing ovations at The Teatro speaks for itself.’
Danie van der Heever adds: “Catalyst Entertainment looks forward to taking our clients confidently into the world of 3D and all the opportunities this format presents.’ (Report by Andy Stead)
