When Surfer’s Paradise nightclub Paradise Lost first opened it hit the headlines due to a press release stating that there would be a $5000 fee to join as a VIP member with access to the Privileged Lounge.
Aimed at the rich, famous and the beautiful, a seat at the exclusive lounge bar would apparently come with all the trimmings; a place where “eligible bachelors, millionaires and gorgeous girls will mix and mingle in a luxurious, classy and comfortable environment”.
Membership would come with the promise of introductions to good-looking members of the opposite sex. The club’s hosts and hostesses will even keep members company if they are alone. Professional models will be invited to parties at the club to mingle with the rich and famous.
A few weeks down the track and George Zurcas, Paradise Lost’s owner, insists the press release was untrue and the results of an over zealous PR girl who one assumes is no longer with them.
Interior designer Sandra Dunne was asked to retain an Art Deco theme with a sophisticated members bar as a feature.
“Unfortunately the budget restricted the overall selection and many compromises were installed,” commented Sandra. “The theme is now one of a variety of bold areas, strong metallic wallpapers and a shell that projects vitality with lots of reflective materials.
“The upholstery should be a link between the textures and comfort – giving the patrons lots of opportunity to find a niche or a bold loud corner to suit the mood.”
Each level is intended to draw the guest into the web of atmosphere ending with the members room experience being hard to resist.
Lighting and audio was supplied and installed by One Productions with Anthony Russo from Technical Audio Group acting as an audio consultant.
Due to neighbourhood noise restrictions special attention was paid to the front of house system to
“The sound has received rave reviews,” commented Anthony Russo. “It’s very good because it’s on the first floor with a timber sprung dance floor.”
Nathan Pugh, owner of One Productions, was responsible for the lighting design and installation. As soon as he saw how high the space was between the dance floor and the ceiling – six metres - he knew just the product to specify.
”I knew that the Martin Mania SCX600 scanners would be ideal due to their incredible speed and brightness,” he said. “Plus the price is really good! I have sixteen SCX scanners situated all around the dance floor and they are so punchy and crisp. I’ve been installing them into quite a few venues recently.”
As the SCX600 features separate colour and gobo wheels it can produce a multitude of effects onto the dance floor and its surrounds. The Mania SCX600 is an extremely flexible effect light, designed for both installation and portable use and is appreciated by DJs, live performers and club owners alike.
Centred to the dance floor and rigged to a suspended pole is a massive 3ft mirror ball, flanked by smaller ones, a couple of 4 way DMX blinders and two DMX Golden Strobes. A Martin Haze machine pumps out the atmospherics.
Control is by a Martin LightJockey, an Easy to use and logical PC-based system favoured by Nathan.
“I’ve used it many times and found it to be easy to operate,” he reported. “LightJockey is perfect for clubs, after basic programming is complete, music and light shows can literally be up and running in minutes.”
Nathan sourced all of his lighting from the Melbourne branch of Show Technology.