Billed as the world’s most expensive (US$5.7 billion) standalone casinos, Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. With the casino complete, the resort also features a 2,560-room hotel, a 120,000m² convention-exhibition centre, The Shoppes Mall, an Art & Science museum, two Sands Theatres, six restaurants, two floating pavilions and a casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The complex is topped by the 340m-long SkyPark with capacity for 3,900 people and a 150m long infinity swimming pool set on top of the world’s largest public cantilevered platform. Recently the opening party covered several venues, including the Waterfront and the SkyPark.
Given the sheer size of the building and Marina Bay area, control for the opening installation was no easy task, and therefore a grandMA2 full-size and a grandMA2 ultra-light consoles were used for lighting control. Crossing the bay by cable was not an option as this would have entailed passing major roads and being routed around buildings, so it was decided to run eight DMX-Universes via wireless lines – using Wireless Solution transmitters and receivers – from the iconic Fullerton Hotel straight across the bay to the roof of the Marina Bay Sands building.
The system was installed by Laservision Australia and with support from Showtec Singapore.
The show was controlled by the grandMA2 full-size running in ‘series 1’ mode. One of the wireless DMX lines was reserved to trigger the grandMA2 ultra-light on top of the Hotel Plaza. All fixtures were programmed from a suite at the Fullerton Hotel directly across the bay. Given the more than 1.000 fixtures involved – amongst others 14 x DTS XR3000 moving lights and 998 x LED washlights – the logical choice for grandMA2 programmer Ryan Marginson was to rely on the processing power of the grandMA2 console.
Colin Baldwin worked as Project Director, the Event Manager was Shannon Brooks and the Technical Production Manager John Cashion. Head Lighting Technician was Patrick Williams. Lighting Technicians were Daryl Bowen, Regan Hammond, Glen Beilenberg, Boyd Yeo Thong, Toh Say Kiat and Bernard Lee onsite. Choony Yip ‘Weng’ was the Manager for Showtec.
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