QMDI Event Organizer hired Creative Communication Group (CCG) to produce the light and sound for the third Senior Convocation of Education City, an initiative sponsored by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. The event, staged at Qatar Foundation Ceremonial Court in Doha, Qatar, included a live concert featuring Saudi Arabian singer Abdul Majid Abdullah.
Like any other big event, challenges arose, but CCG's seasoned crew helped overcome them as they surfaced.
There were some limitations imposed by the shape of venue and the stage, for example. Limited to a 12-meter-high truss with no opportunity for front lighting, the CCG lighting crew used Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1200s from the control area, about 40 meters from the stage.
The position was a bit frontal, but by crossing the beams at a strategic angle, the crew was able to avoid disturbing the performers on the stage.
To balance the high quantity of light produced by the large LED wall, meanwhile, CCG relied Clay Paky Alpha Wash and Alpha HPE 1200 fixtures for visual balance.
"The light output of the Alpha 1200 is great, especially using the narrow beam; we could see clearly the aerial effects," said Michel Khairallah, CCG Head of Light Department.
Another challenge was the spatial size and width of the seating area, which dwarfed the stage and its lighting system. "We decided to add 24 Alpha Beam 1500, 12 for each side at 5 meters of distance from each other, and shooting them on the sky, creating great crossing beam effects," said LD Giovanni Zucchnali.
"We also added 24 Alpha Beam 300s, some of them on top of the sides of the LED screen, outside the stage, some of them on front of the stage, and some other right above the control area. In this way we could "enfold" the audience under 48 beams of light.
"The light programming was done following a simple track," Zucchnali continued. "Everything was live. Because of this, I made some movement and colors that were matching my feeling, listening to the music."
The beam effects helped extend the visual boundaries of the event from the stage itself to the entire venue, Zucchnali noted. "The audience was part of it," Zucchnali said.
"All the Alphas worked perfectly, we didn't have any single issue during those days," added CCG's Khairallah.
Jalal Dudin, CCG managing director, also credited the smooth operation of the entire lighting system, which included the NPU and the Optocore DD6NE Ethernet network device using 150 meter fiber optic cables.
In all, 86 Clay Paky units were used: 24 Clay Paky 1200 Wash fixtures, 12 Clay Paky 1200 Spots, 12 Clay Paky 1200 Profiles, 24 Clay Paky 1500 Beams and 14 Clay Paky 300 Beams. A grandMA2 full size was used for control.
