Once again, the Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival took place in Dubai’s Media City Amphitheatre. It was the 8th edition of the festival which featured artists like The Brand New Heavies, David Gray and James Morrison.
For lighting control, the show’s lighting designer and operator Paul Smith relied on a grandMA system solution consisting of 1 x grandMA full-size console, 1 x grandMA light as a backup, 1 x MA NSP (Network Signal Processor) and a laptop running grandMA 3D for pre-programming and show adjustment.
“The requirement was to create a dynamic environment for the wide variety of artists who were performing, ranging from classical Arabic Jazz to R&B to Acid Jazz to Soul”, explains Smith, “I needed a versatile desk that was familiar to the two visiting LD’s – Tom Lesh and Bill Adie, with Liz Berry programming and operating for Bill – as well as a console that enabled me to busk through three acts I had never heard before and one that I only partially knew. Aside from that, the Art-Net output to drive the media servers, and the versatile effects engine meant that the only choice was a grandMA.”
The rig that Smith controlled with his grandMA included 24 x Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1200s and 24 x Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1200s, plus some Martin moving lights, a plethora of PAR64s and a high-res LED screen fed by two Green Hippo media servers.
Artes supplied the lighting, rigging and staging equipment, IBS Decor delivered the LED screens and media servers.
Photo: Copyright – Paul Smith
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