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SLS Creates waves at IIFA
2006 Dubai
Known as the
“Oscars of Indian Cinema”, the IIFA Awards Ceremony honors the best of Indian
cinema. On its journey of celebrating Indian Cinema across the world, IIFA
spreads the magic of Indian cinema to various exotic locales around the
world. Starting with the Millennium Dome, London, IIFA has traveled through
Sun City, Malaysia, Johannesburg, Singapore and Amsterdam. In 2006, IIFA took
up an Arabian flavor by coming to Dubai. The IIFA Awards evening is a
glamorous stage production combining the best of Indian and international
entertainment. As a prelude to the awards the media are treated to a red
carpet special as the stars walk out in glitz and glamour giving the world
media a glimpse of what beholds. The Show had a massive technical requirement with a production
schedule and build up spanning ten days. SLS production was awarded the main
technical production contract for supplying Sound, Lights and Video.
Airport Expo’s newly completed centre hall has much better
acoustic characteristics than the other two previous halls. Also it didn’t
have the annoying pillars of the old ones and has a wider configuration and
much better height (18meters). SLS’s massive 58 box Vertec Line array system
was designed as a 5-hang system with coverage of 180 degrees. Main Left-Right hangs – 16 boxes each of
VT4888 and 12 no: s VT4880 (flown by side) and 4 boxes (2 each side) of VT4887 were underhung as downfills
below Main hangs. Centre hang of
6 boxes of VT4888DP (DrivePack Powered) and outer Hangs 12 boxes each of VT4888 and 8 boxes of VT4880
(stacked below).
The light
show used 100 moving lights supported by a TV production generic rig of 78
fixtures (mostly Fresnels and profile spots). Highlight of the rig was a
special trussing design that reflected the ethnicity of the show. Internally lit “star”
and “crescent” shapes hovered above the stage and audience creating a set
piece atmosphere. It took custom made components and more than 300 meters of
trussing and 40 electric chain hoists to fly the entire structure. Considering
that the show was telecast live in 65 countries highlights the importance and
complexity of this venture. For more
details see : www.iifa.com Jamiroquai Rocks with SLS
Acid jazz proponents Jamiroquai, ever popular for their unique
sound, rocked Dubai for a second time since their first concert in 2002.
Close to 8,000 people swayed to the “funky” tunes and madcap headgear of the
lead singer “Jay Kay” at the Dubai Media City lawns. The show was promoted by
Vibe Entertainment L.L.C who automatically delegated the production duties to
SLS. The synergy between Vibe Entertainment L.L.C and SLS productions was
punctuated by the duo getting 3 out of the 4 nominations for “best concert
production of the year” at WhatsOn Awards 2006.
The technical rider for Jamiroquai was simple – the band would
carry all FOH, Monitoring and backline equipment. SLS was to supply Main PA,
Lights, trussing and staging.The Vertec PA was designed as a 180 degree
pattern cover with four hangs – 2 main hangs and 2 side hangs as outer
fills.The main PA consisted of 20 nos VT4888 and 18 no: s VT4880. An additional
12 Turbosound TSW-21 subwoofers were stacked next to the main subs
reinforcing low frequencies. The PA was flown at a height of 11mtrs, and the
bass boxes stacked directly underneath the P.A hangs. The side hangs were 6
boxes each of Vertec VT4888s. Jamiroquai’s touring crew had a modern approach to minimizing the
kit they traveled with – both FOH & Monitor mixers were Yamaha PM5D’s and
the signal distribution was through a customized Optocore solution. No
outboard gear was used, although the monitor side had a rack with some Avalon
Preamps and KT equalizers thrown in for good measure.All stage monitors were
EAW SM 12’s carried by the touring crew. All the other stage gear like
instruments and backline amps were flown in with the crew.
The show
was a huge success, not just because of the huge number of people involved
but also due to the excellent reviews by local media the next day calling it
one of the best concerts Dubai has seen. This reaffirms our philosophy in
production : A good technical production should be transparent to the audience by providing the best quality
but not being in the way. |
