Pioneering creative agency Imagination Australia created an impressive show, lighting up a fleet of naval ships and Sydney harbour landmarks, which was watched by millions of people, both in the city and around the world. Imagination Australia designed and produced every element of the most complex, highly choreographed, fireworks, projection, lighting and live action show ever seen in Australia.
Lighting designer Mark Hammer specified 132 Clay Paky Sharpy and 108 Sharpy Wash 330s, which he positioned around the harbour and on the ships themselves. Hammer combined and blended the light from these various sources to create depth filled texture and rich colour despite the gunmetal grey surface of the ships.
"Each land position and each ship housed twelve Sharpys each," explains Hammer. "The land sites had a mixture of eight beam and four washes to illuminate the ships, and on the actual ships we had eight washes and four beam. The Clay Paky Sharpys were amazing on the night, packing the much-needed punch. The Sharpy Wash 330s on the ships gave us the power we needed to create the brightest possible up-light beam for the memorial segment. We also used them to mimic guns by flashing through some strobe effects. Quite simply they were the perfect light for the job, using very little power yet delivering maximum output.
"I know the Sharpys are famous for their powerful beams that can cut through everything, and they didn't disappoint! The penetration into the night sky by the Sharpys was incredible."
Sydney-based Show Technology supplied the Clay Paky fixtures and is also the Australian distributor for Clay Paky.
Mark McInnes, national sales and marketing manager for Show Technology, comments, "The Naval review was a significant project, and we were very aware that we had the whole of the world watching our harbour that night. In these types of critical situations you need fixtures which are proven to work and have a well-known performance capacity.
"On the night, of course, the fixtures performed brilliantly. Attempting to light grey painted ships, floating around, from as far away as 600 metres is a daunting experience, however the Clay Paky product came through and those little lights pack a very big punch."
During the event, fireworks were launched from city rooftops, barges, the Harbour Bridge and from the decks of the warships, and a massive projection onto the Sydney Opera House told the history of the Royal Australian Navy.
"The Clay Paky brand has had a real increase in popularity in Australia over the last few years due to both the strength of our distribution systems and of course the fantastic products Clay Paky are now manufacturing and bringing to market," continues McInnes. "The future for Clay Paky here is Australia is very bright."
(Jim Evans)
