The team used 20 Space Cannon 8kW and 28 Century Colour 2500W supplied by local company Playback. They used all four universes of a Whole Hog II, all operated with W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden AB. Universe 1 controlled four Space Cannons on top of the office building (135m/450ft high); Universe 2 controlled eight Space Cannons placed in the garden in front of the residential building plus two Space Cannons on top of the highest point of the residential building; Universe 3 controlled 10 Century Colours that were placed on the top of the entertainment centre and used to colour the residential building; and Universe 4 controlled the six Space Cannons and 18 Century Colours that were placed in the entrance of the mall.
Ola Melzig, production manager for Spectra explained: "All the different areas where we had light were between 100-250m away from the lighting desk (300-800ft). This show would have been impossible to pull off the way we did it without the use of W-DMX." Lighting designer Per Sundin added: "Since we saved a lot of time on NOT running cable all over the place, we gained time that we could use for programming instead, which of course improved the result of the end product."
The biggest challenge to the team was that the mall was still a construction site when they moved in on 22 May, and they had to co-exist with 3000 people trying to finish off the building in time for the opening. In addition, regardless of what needed to be done, they had to walk at least 300m (1000ft) to do it and the elevators did not always work, especially at night.
Operator Danne Persson, exhausted and sunburned, kept his comments brief, "Gosh, it's HOT here!"
Spectra's client for the installation was Istanbul-based The Partners. Firat Kasapoglu, owner of The Partners said: "Spectra and The Partners joined forces once again after the success with Eurovision Song Contest 2004 for the grand opening of the Istanbul Kanyon. The Kanyon is the most luxurious Urban Complex in Turkey. I'm very happy with the result and I believe that we got a very unconventional dynamic and effect-full lighting design thanks to the use of W-DMX."
W-DMX is a reliable, compact and easy-to-use wireless DMX512 solution for architectural, theatrical and corporate events. Because W-DMX can be used to cover distances of over 900m (3,000 feet) using the standard antenna, with an optional larger antenna making distances of over 30km (18 miles) possible, it is the ideal solution for large-scale events. W-DMX is the only product for wireless DMX that is dual award winning, first at PLASA in 2004 and again at LDI in 2005. The system has recently been used with tremendous success at The Nobel Prize Banquet in Stockholm, the Olympic Ceremonies in Turin, and Cirque de Soleil's travelling show, Delirium.
(Lee Baldock)
