LD Tim Dunn used 282 Robe fixtures in his design for Miss World 2009, which was staged at the Gallagher Convention Centre. The show was televised and broadcast live to 80 of the 112 participating countries, including, for the first time, the U.S., India and China. Along with the 3,500 in the live audience, an estimated 1 billion people saw the show. The visual challenges included making the production look lively and visually interesting while also lighting up a 45-meter-wide spherical set designed by Dewet Meyer. The set was based on African jewels and was circled by two large decorative rings, painted white to optimize the lighting. Other areas of the set were also covered in white and light gray PVC.
Dunn specified 72 of Robe's new Robin 300 series fixtures – a mix of Spots, Washes and Beams, and 24 of the new ColorSpot 700E AT Beams, along with 72 Robe ColorSpot 2500E ATs and both ColorSpot and ColorWash 700E ATs. All the overhead lights were rigged on six circular and ellipsoidal trusses hung over the stage, plus a myriad of curved and straight trusses all around the venue.
As he did for the 2008 show, Dunn also used 12 DigitalSpot 7000 DTs for visual effects, all rigged on the same mid-stage truss. They were loaded with special video content prepared by Gearhouse Media and used for casting subtle animations onto the set and stage. The DigitalSpots produced a multi-dimensional visual effect by projected onto the back of the set and its support legs.
Dunn also made use of the 40 percent increase in brightness in the latest version of Robe's REDWash 3-192, with 42 of them dotted around the rig. Eighteen were used to light the set rings in a series of vibrant colors, their homogenized lightsources yielding a smooth, even finish, and the color mixing producing an array of pink, orange and turquoise shades.
The Robin 300E Spots were positioned around the floor, illuminating the set edges and legs and the white PVC cyc which circled the perimeter of the performance space. Dunn programmed them to produce some bright gobo patterns and mixes, tweaking the wide focus range for variety and added effect.
Also on the floor were 24 of Robe's new CitySkape48 LED units, used for washing the set edges and walls in saturated color.
Dunn also noted his ability to use his keylighting at full – consisting of 29 5K fresnels – yet still have acceptably rich color across the rest of the stage area, such as when all 112 contestants and presenters were onstage together. He also used the different Robe fixtures together to offer a strong selection of televised camera shots and looks.
"Robe has had the foresight to develop a range of different instruments, all highly flexible and usable for multiple tasks and effects," Dunn said. "It's a really well thought through, intelligent R&D philosophy, and they have clearly listened to what LDs want."
The Robe fixtures were delivered to Gearhouse South Africa, which supplied the full technical production package to Miss World 2009, including lighting, sound, set, AV, LED screens, staging and media, rigging, via Robe's South African distributor DWR.
DWR also arranged for 50 Anolis Arc-Link 3s to be air-freighted out at short notice to internally light 50 300mm balls, used to delineate the exterior of the set rings.
Dunn controlled all lighting on the rig via a networked grandMA full size console, which also ran an MA Media server storing the playback video content used in the DigitalSpots and for the back LED screen onstage.
The LED screen was a 10-by-5 panel configuration of Lighthouse R16 supplied by LEDVision, output via a Barco Encore screen management system operated by Gearhouse AV's Craig McGinn.
Kendall Dixon, lead rigger for Miss World, teamed with Roy Wood and five others. The staging department was headed by Craig Pretorius and Pieter Joubert from SDS, working with 10 crew and 16 local workers on each day of the build.
