'BOLLYWOOD' LANDS IN GREENWICH

First International Indian Film Awards broadcasted and webcasted to over 1.75 million viewers


BARCO, world leader in large screen video and graphics display technology is pleased to announce the recent provision of 24 sqm of BARCO Dlite-7 daylight display solution by SHOW PRESENTATION SERVICES (SPS) as principal staging décor for the first International Indian Film Awards. Two Dlite-7 screens (measuring 12 sqm each) were used as matching backdrops to screen live camera feed, video and amazing effects for the show, set to become a glittering annual event in London reflecting the inroads Indian film is making in the United Kingdom.



A night of sparkling and dynamic entertainment took place in London at the end of June, as celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood converged on the Dome for the first International Indian Film Awards ("IIFA"). The awards, held outside India for the first time, were hosted by the reigning Miss World, India's Yukta Mookey and legendary Bollywood star Anupam Kher. The Dome provided an exciting high profile backdrop to an eclectic and prestigious event, with the futuristic setting of "Skyscape", the live entertainment venue at the Dome, the perfect location to accommodate the fun and lively awards. Twin DLite-7 screens of 12 sqm each, filled the "A" of the vast "IIFA" logo located stage left and right, above and behind the compere's and vividly displayed the live events and video footage for the benefit of the specially invited audience and the 1.75 million viewers.


Despite hectic filming schedules many of India's biggest and brightest film stars attended the awards. They included: Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Shatrughan Sinha, former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, Twinkle Khanna and model turned actress Sonali Bendre. The stars joined a specially invited audience of 3,000 guests in Skyscape to celebrate the industry's continuing achievement. Each year the Indian film industry produces over 800 films (double the number Hollywood produces), selling 600 billion tickets across the world and generating an annual turnover of 200 million dollars.


Says Richard Wathen, Dome Head of AV: "The Dome is proud to have hosted such a big night for the world's second largest film industry. For the first time in Skyscape we chose to have the BARCO DLite LED screens, located both stage left and right. These were used to display live camera feed and recorded video as well as special effects during the performances. BARCO's True Motion Reproduction Technology ensured no action was missed to both the televised audience and viewers over the internet during the live stage performances. BARCO's DLite LED have a 5000 nit brightness capability, but for the benefit of the TV camera's we had to run the screens at 6%. BARCO's 'day and night' 16 bit grayscale processing, dynamic colour mapping allows the use of a 16 bit contrast level for each colour and creates real blacks even when adjusting brightness, colour and tint - essential flexibility for a live event."


The stage for the evenings' awards, the largest erected in Britain, was suitably spectacular and spacious and played home to an international line up. Hollywood action star Jackie Chan received a special award from the "IIFA" collecting it from the Shaolin Monks from China's holy Mount Song, who had performed earlier. Other performers included Kylie Minogue and the cast from the Dome's Millennium Show.


Says Bryan Leatham, General Manager of SPS: "SPS is committed to delivering the worlds' finest LED display products to customers, offering them best video quality, guaranteed reliability and total solutions. The BARCO Dlite-7 was a perfect choice. The visual resolution of 7mm enables audiences to see detailed imagery close up instead of from distances around 20m away which supported the layout of the Skyscape live entertainment venue. The International Indian Film Awards was another great success for SPS in the indoor display market. We are proud that the combination of our expertise in staging live events and BARCO's LED displays, allows us to provide the very best product and support at very competitive pricing"..


Endorsing SPS's success at the IIFA awards Ross Burling, BARCO's Staging & Rental Sales Manager said, "The dedicated team at SPS and the BARCO Dlite displays have won yet another acclaim from an organizer of a high profile performance. We are very pleased to see another big success for SPS. With an exciting future that includes concert touring, performances and exhibitions, we are confident SPS will continue to set new standards in both the indoor and outdoor display market.


Barco Projection Systems is one of the five key activities of Barco, next to Barco Communication Systems, Barco Graphics, Barco Display Systems and BarcoVision. In 1999, these 5 key activities delivered a turnover of euro 710 million. Approximately 50 % of this turnover is realized outside Western Europe. Barco has a network of subsidiaries, distributors and agents in 97 countries throughout the world. Barco has been quoted on the Brussels Bourse since 1986. Barco is a BEL 20 company. You can find more information about Barco on the Web: http://www.barco.com

For more information, please contact

Inge Govaerts
Public Relations Manager
Barco - Media & Entertainment

Telephone +32 56 36 8052
inge.govaerts@barco.com