Emmy recipient, Jeff Ravitz, designed the stage and television lighting for the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday, April 26, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) and the issues that affect their lives. Presenters included Ellen DeGeneres, Cindy Crawford, Tom Ford, TR Knight, Garry Marshall, and Sharon Stone. Accepting awards were Janet Jackson, Rufus Wainwright, the casts of Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters, and many other major media figures. Special guest, Joss Stone, performed two songs with her backup band.
“This is a major star-studded event and expectations were high,” comments Ravitz. “GLAAD has a new deal with Bravo to broadcast the event, so the producers were under pressure to deliver network quality production values on a par with the top award show telecasts. The Kodak Theatre and its staff and crew were incredibly helpful during our fast track, two day production schedule. It’s a big space, and the set, onstage celebrity talent and audience of superstars required careful attention to hone them to the perfection we make every effort to achieve. We were proud to be participants in this worthy cause.”
The equipment package, provided by Global Trend Productions, included Martin Mac 2000s, 700s and 600s, as well as TW1 tungsten wash lights, controlled by a full-size grandMA, programmed by Alex Reardon. Associate designer was Kristie Roldan.
The GLAAD awards will be broadcast on Bravo June 27 at 7:00PM Eastern & Pacific.
Ravitz’s design for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band is currently on tour in the US, and will move into outdoor stadiums in Europe this summer. He recently designed broadcasts for Sheryl Crow and Chris Daughtry for Control Room Presents on My Network, and for music.msn.com, and Where Music Meets Film, a Fuse TV music special live from the Sundance Film Festival.