05 October 2011
Capetonians were treated to the Gospel Skouspel held at the Grand Arena at the Grand West Casino in Cape Town on 10 September 2011. 91Robe fixtures controlled by an AVO with technical support from a jacked-up team, ensured a breathtaking show. Local performers included Juanita du Plessis, Bobby van Jaarsveld, Nianell, Romanz, Retief Burger, Riana Nel and Joe Niemand amongst others.
For the fifth consecutive year, Phoenix 5 called on the technical expertise of Cape Town based rental company, C&S, for the set, stage, AV, sound, lighting and rigging. The gear was jointly supplied by The Grand Arena and C&S. The day was divided into two 200 minute shows, each playing to a full audience and recorded for the television programme Kyknet on DSTV and for a DVD.
Alan Muller was the Lighting Designer and consultant for both lighting and rigging. “The professionalism of both suppliers meant they acted as one team; Dave Mostert from the Grand Arena was always around and Donald Clark (C&S), amidst loads of work, was always there,” Alan complimented them. Sean Caie from the Grand Arena ensured that his venue provided the support for the equipment they supplied, and to ensure that the health and safety protocol was followed.
“Both suppliers using international standard equipment meant I could relax (a bit) knowing the Prolyte Trussing was strong, the Robes were reliable and the AVO dimmers and AVO Console were in control,” Alan added. “It was also fantastic having a Brilliant Young Hungry (who goes by the name of Andrew Bosman) AV Tech, who was eager to create with the LED Wall.”
Alan used an Avolites Tiger Touch.“The AVO rocks. For quick, unexpected changes, it was a breeze with the super Hands On of the AVO, the Tiger Touch being my fav desk …hmm maybe I must move up to a Sapphire Touch?”
The Show was varied with a lovely rock opening number that meant the Avo got to play… the audience was off their chairs in numerous moments caught in the devotion and the technical interaction of the event.
Basic positioning of gear
Back Truss: 6x Robe 700 Spot
Mid Truss: 5x Robe 700 Wash; 4x Robe 700 Spots; 6 x Warp Profiles
Side Diagonal Trusses: Each with 5x Robe 700 Wash
Mother Grid for 5 architectural trusses each consisted of H30 sections and circular segments. All the ‘fingers’ were toned with 2x 5w RGBW LEDs with a Robe 700 Spot on the top. In addition 4 of the trusses had 5x Robe 5w RGBW LEDs as band side fills… there were also 6x additional Robe 700 Wash lights as extreme side lights to fill the side stage entrances – these were on fly bars and the 2x 8m screens.
FOH : 14x Warp Profiles, 7x Robe 700 Wash and 6x Robe 700 Spots, 6x 4light blinders and 36 x additional house toning cans, in addition there were 15 bars of 6 cans as house toners….
“The show was being Wide Screen HD so a lower, flat set was important and Wayne Krull (Phoenix 5) came up with a lovely set in that format. However, even though the show is recorded it is very much a live event with Radio Tygerberg listeners packing the Arena, so the whole picture had to look good,” explained Alan. “The music is from rock to devotional ballads and this was achievable with a neutral, clean look intersected by 5x H30 truss ‘Lamp Posts’. Five being that unbalanced number, with two on the left and three on the right, I chose to tone all 5 trusses and place a 700 Spot on each point but only put 5w RGBW LEDs on 4 of the 5, making sure that the band sidelight was equal in intensity from both sides – making camera work a bit easier. The six entrances meant we had some strange positions for side lights, making sure an artist always had some back light…”
Alan says that while all designers love beams, in this instance he chose to keep the floor clean from black boxes on the lovely white set. “This also meant very little blinding of the audience in the Arena seats as the age group was extremely wide. Images used on the LED wall were important as the message they were portraying had to compliment the significance of the performance, many of these were custom photos we took for the event.”
Congratulations to all involved! Donald Clark from C&S sums it up, “The largest challenge was running almost 60 channels of RF, but it was great to supply all aspects of the show from backline to AV with all gear running smoothly without any hiccups!”
Lighting Equipment list
27 x Robe 700 Wash
26 x Robe 700 Spot
38 x Robe 5 w RGBW LEDs
18 x Warp Profiles
6 x 4 light blinders
22 x Bars of Cans
2 x Trooper S spots
1 x AVO Tiger Touch
2 x ZR 33
2 x Le Maitre Hazers
