The Nicky Minaj concert organised by the newly formed 117Live, headed by Thomas Oveson (who was previously with Done Events) was held at Dubai's latest entertainment venue - named Autism Rocks Arena. Protec provided lighting, video and rigging for the show.
Protec Video's biggest challenge was getting the trim height for the main screen just right, to avoid the risers from cutting into the bottom of the screen, and the top of the screen getting in the way of the back LX fixtures. A total of 158 sq.m off Protec's 6mm and 154 sq.m of Protec's 9mm Mambo LED panels were used for the main stage.
The Imag screens for the main stage were set in portrait and the content started initially in 16x9 format using part of the screen, which then changed to full screen portrait to accept the live camera feed. Nicky's Video Engineer Kenner said, "This is my first tour with Nicky, about my tenth time in Dubai and my second time with Protec and you guys are great. When I arrived everything was set up the way it needed to be and there were no issues. I literally plug it in and it works".
Protec's project manager comments, "The production for this gig worked out very well from a technical and logistical point of view. The site was laid out very well, there was plenty of room in the backstage area for all vehicles from different aspects of the production and personnel to move around with ease without getting in each other's way."
Meanwhile, the same evening Nicky Minaj was performing in Dubai, in the du Arena on Yas Island, Protec was working on the lighting (around 350 fixtures made up of Clay Paky Mythos, Sharpy profiles and washes, Stormy, A-LEDA K10 B-EYE, Molefrays and Gladiator spots that were run on Grand MA2 full size desks) and rigging, for another concert where thousands of fans, mostly girls, from across the country and around the region gathered at the venue for another first. KCON, the world's biggest K-pop festival made its way to the Middle East for the first time on Friday, March 25 put together by Flash Entertainment.
The K-Pop artists who performed at the concert included BTS, TaeYeon from Girls Generation, Kyuhyun from Super Junior, Double S 301, Ailee, Monsta X and SPICA. The convention showcased different aspects of the Korean culture and went down a treat in the Middle East. Over the past few years, the spread of South Korean entertainment culture also known as the Korean wave or the 'Hallyu' movement has swept across various countries, the Middle East being no exception.
Back in Dubai a week later, 117Live hosted the Autism Rocks festival on 1 April featuring American hip-hop artiste Flo Rida and rapper Tyga. The duo took to the stage at the end of the family day to mark Autism Awareness Month. Both artistes were at the top of their game and the crowds that came in support of autism awareness were treated to high energy performances.
After the Nicky Minaj show Protec had to change the lighting plot to suit the Autism Rocks Festival plan but Arron Russ, (Protec's lighting designer & HOD) also designed the lighting for Flo Rida and was able to utilise the same rigging plan that was used for Nicky Minaj. This meant that the changeover between the two shows was fairly seemless.
(Jim Evans)
