FORD FIESTA MOONLIGHT CINEMA

AT THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS MELBOURNE

(Case Study)

The Royal Gardens Melbourne has made a dedicated commitment to the protection of the
flora and fauna within the 36 hectare botanical environment over its more than 165 year history.
It is the protection of the internationally renowned, heritage-listed site that cultivates and
fosters its beauty and in return, makes the site a unique and unparalleled venue opportunity for
event managers.
Balancing the conversation interests of the Royal Botanic Garden Board administration staff,
rangers and horticulturist with the desire to provide enjoyable events for the general public requires
that event managers tread with careful consideration to equitably accommodate these competing
interests.
Event managers are required to rigorously assess the impact of their event on the sites with
sensitivity. Waste management, maintaining the amenity of the gardens, and protecting the
botanical and fauna species of the gardens are all issues to be considered by the event managers.
Confirming an event within the site requires compliance with the objectives of the gardens
as embodied in the Royal Botanic Gardens Act 1992, as well as any policies and protocols
implemented by the board.

Maintain the aesthetic and Serenity of the Gardens

Serenity is not based exclusively on aesthetics and includes noise pollution not in keeping
with the tranquility of the surrounds.
Noise generated from blaring radios or crew
who are directing instructions across Central Lawn
is unacceptable and it is for this reason that
contractors are briefed on the behavioral
expectations and conduct within the gardens prior
to the event. Onsite production crews use
production radios to allow for ease of
communications.
Waste management is a critical focus to
reduce Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema’s impact on
the site. Unfortunately, the cinema mentality of
attendees encourages littering and, as such, event
cleaning is undertaken in two comprehensive
tiers:

● The first tier, post event for large rubbish collection

● The second tier, conducted at dawn for hand-sorted small rubbish collection (e.g. cigarette
butts, bottle tops)
Minimize Impact on Local Residents

Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema distribute letters (letter box drop) to local residents of
surrounding streets, notifying them of season dates and providing a direct contact number for the
venue manager should residents have any concerns or complaints.
Cinema attendees leaving the Royal Botanic Gardens are advised that it is a residential area
and that they are to leave quietly. Security personnel are positioned on the outer surrounds to
move attendees on and reduce loitering around residential homes.
The natural curvature of the amphitheater of the Central Lawn has the potential to allow
amplified film sound to travel directly to adjacent residential homes. Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema
enlists the use of an audio suppressor to mitigate this potential impact. Audio suppressors restrict
sudden peaks of noise, causing the sound level to diminish slightly after the peak and prior to
recalibration.

Horticultural Considerations within Greenfield Sites

Rangers actively monitor compliance with the regulations of the Royal Botanic Gardens by all
visitors to the Gardens, including event managers. While rangers have the ability to issue penalty
infringement notices, replacement or restoration cost resulting from damage to garden beds and
lawns is of great concern to event manager. However, the damage extends to having an impact
upon professional relationships and reputations. Damage, particularly reckless or negligent damage,
may result in a reluctance of the venue manager to consider future engagement with particular third
party operators.
Horticultural teams provide the costing for the damage, which include labor, assessment
time, and materials. Significant trees are valued to a dollar amount, though it’s clear that within
such a significant site, some trees are irreplaceable.
The Royal Botanic Gardens Regulation (2004) strictly forbids anything from being removed
from trees. As a natural environment, the garden inevitably grow and as a result, event managers
need to consider these changes and the movement of vehicles or structures around the Gardens and
the appropriateness of their equipment to ensure damage is not caused.
The marquees and tents of the caterers and sponsors are not permitted to be pegged into
turf as subterranean irrigation systems exist under the Gardens lawns. Structures are only permitted
to be tethered by weights; however, due to water restrictions these are not to be water filled.

Annual bump-in daily bump-ins and outs

Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema undertakes annual bump-in. The bump-in of the cinema
screening requires delivery of the box office, projection shed, site office and shipping container.
All vehicles delivering during the annual bump-in must be of a suitable height and width due
to low hanging limbs of the trees and the narrow entrance gate of the Royal Botanic Gardens. A
speed restriction of 8kms for walking parcel must be adhered to.
Cranes must be used to place the projection shed on to the Central Lawns and, because
vehicles are prohibited from driving on grass areas weight distribution boards are required to
mitigate damage. Without such measure the vehicle would cause turf and soil disruption and more
importantly, compaction which prevent growth.
All daily equipment (bean, beds, inflatable screen, etc.) is store within the container for the
duration of the event season. Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema’s daily bump-in is undertaken as late as
possible to avoid disruption to patrons and visitors of the Garden.
Sponsorship

The Royal Botanic Gardens requires event managers to educate event sponsors about the
sensitivities of their grounds. These venue sensitivities are often at odds with a sponsors’ sense of
entitlement and the common practice of demanding highly visible, large signage in quantity to be
positioned in premium locations.
The Royal Botanic Gardens strongly discourage the leaflet distribution of sponsors. Not only
does it create a high volume of waste and litter, it is also commonly known to be an ineffectual
sponsorship approach.
It is clear that these practices are not in keeping with the amenity of the Gardens and are
therefore not encouraged. The best compromise is a simple process of communication and
negotiation. Sponsorship agreement benefits the impact of the amenity of the grounds must be
confirmed with and approved by the Royal Botanic Gardens prior to conformation with the sponsors.
 Questions:

Being an Event Manager answer the following questions:

1. How would you brief your contractors on the delivery of the infrastructure required for Ford
Fiesta Moonlight Cinema? What procedures would you put in place to insure compliance?
2. What alternative benefits could you offer to a sponsor instead of multiple large banners and
signage?
3. How could you minimize cigarettes buts litter at the events? Be creative in your approach in
solving this problem.
4. What insurance is required to cover the cost of any potential damage to the event venue
turf or plant species?
5. How could you encourage cinema attendees to use recycling and waste bin provided?
6. How will you encourage cinema attendees to use public transport, carpooling and bicycling
to and from the botanic gardens?
7. What ways could you offset and/or reduces the carbon created by Ford Fiesta Moonlight
Cinema’s energy needs throughout the screening session?
8. What creative initiatives could you undertake to make Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema more
sustainable?
9. What electronic and non-paper based methods of ticketing could you undertake to reduce
the paper waste created by Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema?
10. What non-paper based promotional activities could you employ to effectively promote and
advertise Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema’s schedule of films?