JOHANNESBURG – Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 2500E ATs and REDWash 3-192s were part of the lighting design by Tim Dunn and Hugh Turner that caught the eye of a global TV audience and the 95,000 vuvuzela blowing football fans who packed into Soccer City Stadium, Soweto, Johannesburg ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final. Dunn and Turner collaborated closely on the design and specification of the equipment, all of which was provided by Gearhouse South Africa, the main technical suppliers for the Closing Ceremony event produced by The VWV Group.
The lighting had to be big, bold and memorable for the 30-minute show. Dunn and Turner needed powerful lightsources for the venue, and a relatively expedient rig in terms of fixture numbers, each one needed to be as flexible and multi-functional as possible.
The 44 REDWash 3-192s were positioned around the perimeter of the field of play. They were used for throwing color washes across the field cloth for the big dance numbers with distinctive blocks of light, effectively diffusing the edge of the field cloth (a light colored-cover used for the show and removed for the game) that served as a canvas for the event's large-format projections.
From the top of the stadium, lights were installed on four descending rings, with ring 4 being the highest and ring 1 the lowest.
The 48 ColorWash 2500E ATs were hung around ring 1, attached via special brackets to the stadium walls, and had throw distances of up to 50 meters. They were used for streaking the lower seating levels all around the stadium and to light the performers on the field – a cast of 740 including 40 elephant operators – and 35 main artists. They were also used to swing up and light the roof skins on the far upper level, and to texture these same surfaces with gobos.
The ColorSpot 2500E ATs were on ring 2. These played a vital role in lighting the edges of the projection area. They were fitted with four different custom gobos, including a rectangular "framing gobo" that was designed to produce the exact mask required to apply light precisely to the projection border area.
Preventing light encroachment on the projection area was really important, and took lots of diligent programming, and Robe's framing gobo helped in this process.
The other custom gobos supplied to Gearhouse by Robe were a starfield, a sponge effect and a block gobo that emulated the blocky architectural appearance of the exterior of Soccer City.
The ColorSpots were also used as a multi-tasking fixture. In addition to lighting the projection surround, they also lit the edge of the pitch cloth, as well as being used as gobo projection units and key lights for performers in specific numbers.
Gearhouse has a large stock of Robes, and Dunn and Turner have both used them on many previous shows and projects. They have credited Robe fixtures for their versatility, power and reliability, and also the thought and time that Robe puts in to developing new technologies and listening to what end users want.
The Closing Ceremony show was programmed and run by Tim Dunn on a grandMA full size console. Turner called the eight follow spots, and the fiber data network used for distributing lighting control was designed by Chris Grandin from Gearhouse Media.
Along with a blend of contemporary and classic African song, dance and theatre, the Closing Ceremony show included a rendition of the Waka Waka World Cup theme song by Shakira.
For more information, please visit www.robe.cz.
