JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – LD Mauritz Jacobs from Johannesburg-based Dream Sets lit the Miss South Africa 2011 pageant using 50 Robe moving lights at the core of his lighting rig. The event was held at Sun City’s Superbowl venue. A day earlier, Jacobs lit the Miss Teen 2011 pageant on the same stage.
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Lighting designer Mauritz Jacobs from Johannesburg-based Dream Sets lit the Miss South Africa 2011 pageant, which was once again staged at Sun City’s Superbowl venue.
It was the sixth consecutive year that Jacobs has lit the event, and the second working with Dream Sets.
He used 50 Robe moving lights – 16 ColorWash 2500E ATs, 16 ColorSpot 700E ATs, 12 ColorBeam 700E ATs and six ColorWash 700E ATs – at the core of his lighting rig. There was more than 96 meters of trussing, hung in different shapes and configurations above the stage and audience area, complete with six ColorBeam 700s on the floor.
These were part of Dream Sets’ stock of Robe fixtures, which are used on all their major shows.
The open plan set featuring 96 LED panels was designed by Dewet Meyer. This presented the biggest visual challenge for the lighting – having to compete in brightness with the LEDs – however, with the high output and quality light emitted by all the different Robe fixtures, and particularly the ColorWash 2500s, Jacobs’ task was made infinitely easier.
He’s been using Robe for about six years now for their reliability, wide range of units and because “One hell of a team backs up their product.” This referred to the South African distributor DWR.
Jacobs’ creative lighting for the show had to ensure that the 12 contestants were beautifully lit for TV with perfect skin tones. He also had to come up with plenty of drama and spectacle for the various live entertainment acts that punctuated the different sections of the show.
Miss South Africa was broadcast live on satellite TV channel Mzansi. A day earlier, Jacobs and the Dream Sets crew also lit the Miss Teen 2011 pageant on the same stage.