Claypaky lights Singapore's celebrations
- Details
The Singapore Bicentennial National Day Parade was held on 9 August at the Padang, which in itself is an iconic landmark. The Padang, an open field site, was chosen as an alternative to public buildings by Stamford Raffles in 1822. It became
a major recreational area when two clubs, the Singapore Cricket Club and the Singapore Recreation Club, were established at both ends of the field. The Padang also witnessed the first post-independence National Day Parade held in 1966, and prior to that, the declarations of self-government in 1959 and the union with Malaysia in 1963.
Our Singapore was the theme of Singapore's 54th birthday celebration, and it aimed to tell the country's story from past to present in six acts. In total more than 1050 lights were used, with Claypaky fixtures totalling 602 units. These comprised 262 units of HY B-EYE K25, 208 units of Scenius Unico and 132 units of Mythos 2. Two grandMA3 full size consoles, complemented with seven MA3 processing units were responsible for the show control.
The show's lighting design was handled by Michael Chan and Mac Chan. Lighting programming was by Michael Chan and Tejay Yeo.
"The Claypaky K25s were a huge feature of the show," comments Michael. The Padang was "contained" on three sides with three large LEDs, and the open spaces between the LEDs were filled in with so-called candlestick towers of varying heights. The towers were draped on three sides with red clothing, the intention to create a feel of being in an enclosed space. When the lighting designers heard about these towers, they decided to hang lights on them to allow for more creative possibilities. It was on these 50 such towers that surround the three sides of the field that the K25s were installed.
"They defined the show. The K25s became this ever-changing backdrop behind the audience. The fixtures are so bright that they also functioned as a secondary wash," said Michael.
The Unicos installed on top of the three huge LED screens were used as washes for lighting faces of performers and to provide colours within the performance space. "We designed the lighting structure with three layers. The Mythos 2, which were installed on a lower level on the three sides acting like a border surrounding the field, were the low-level lights that projected colours, beams and gobos. The K25s provided another layer of effects and backdrops with the Unicos being the highest layer."
The Claypaky fixtures were supplied by local production powerhouse Showtec International Pte.
(Jim Evans)
