SCLA relies on grandMA2 for SEA Games ceremonies
Published: ASIA
SINGAPORE: MA Lighting’s grandMA2 control platform was used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the recent South East Asia (SEA) Games. Lighting designer Mac Chan worked closely with lead programmer Michael Chan and Muen Huang to produce the ceremonies’ lighting shows. Mr Chan’s company, Stage Center Line & Associates (SCLA), first used the MA for the Singapore National Day Parade in 2009 and now specifies the system for all large-scale projects the company is involved with.
The stadium lighting rig comprised approximately 900 fixtures from manufacturers including Vari*Lite, Clay Paky, DTS, Robe and Martin. They were scattered over a series of trusses flown in the roof and positioned around the perimeter of the field of play. Mr Chan specified two grandMA full-size and two grandMA light to cover the ceremonies, with full tracking backup. Set up by MA systems engineer Fares Aljunied, the network comprised 10 MA NPUs (Network Processing Unit), 11 MA 8Port Nodes and 8 MA 2Port Nodes.
‘In the console world, grandMA2 was the only choice for a project of this size and complexity,’ stated Mr Chan, adding that the main reasons he likes the system are, ‘for the amount of micro-control grandMA2 offers, especially when running timecode and other parameters, and for the really powerful network sessioning.’
Combining with visual projections on the field of play, the lighting show reportedly made use of all of the console’s common features, including the use of timecode as a trigger element. The team also used the manufacturer’s 3D visualisation software. Running on four servers, the MA 3D system was set up by assistant LD Marc Brandon-Hor and allowed the team to use any ‘down’ time constructively and also to programme during daylight hours.