South African lighting and technical production company M.J. Lighting was awarded the contract by Effect 28 Creative Solutions to provide lighting and structure for the Big Brother Africa final, held outside the M-Net studios in Randburg, South Africa on the 6 September 2003. Francois van der Merwe, M.J.'s in-house lighting designer, utilized a host of automated luminaires on the show including eight MAC 2000 Profiles and 20 of M.J.'s newest fixtures, the Martin MAC 250 Entour, supplied through Martin's South African distributor, Electrosonic SA. One of two new versions of Martin's groundbreaking 250W automated profile spot, the Entour houses superior achromatic optics for bright output and a host of graphical solutions, as well as a specially designed dimming system and more. This rig was complemented with conventional lighting rigged from scaff towers as audience and front light for the stage.
20 of the 24 MAC 250 Entour units arrived in the country the Thursday before the Sunday event, and after minimal warehouse preparation were ready to work gobo and colour effects onto the walkway and finalists' stage. A pair of powerful Jem ZR 33 Hi-Mass smoke machines is incorporated into the set, creating both atmospheric smoke effects and a mid-air projection canopy.
Van der Merwe was impressed with the brightness and head speed of the Entour and commented on how silent the unit was. Although small, the Entour was capable of generating more than adequate light output for the cameras. M.J. Lighting also provided an outdoor free-standing 22m x 8m structure of s-type, a-type and d-type truss from which side, top and back lighting was rigged. The successful finale was televised live to approximately 25 million viewers throughout Africa.
(Lee Baldock)
