Entec Lighting supplied full
lighting production –
including their 24 brand new
Vari*Lite VL2500s - for the
massive “Sensations 2005”,
Bollywood extravaganza show,
staged at Birmingham’s
National Indoor Arena.
Entec’s latest moving
light investment is in addition
to their extensive stock of
VL 2202’s and 2402’s,
and was made due to the company’s
incredibly busy summer work
schedule.
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| Sensations
2005 was a colourful, action-packed
performance starring the latest and
greatest Indian silver screen superstars
plus a large supporting cast of other
top artists and performers. Bollywood's
hottest names included Shah Rukh Khan,
Salman Khan and Rani Mukherjee |
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Lighting designer Atul Sonpal
– Bollywood’s most
prestigious LD – was in
contact with Entec’s crew
chief and event production manager
Dave Black for several months
in advance of the show, sorting
out the aesthetics and ensuring
the show acquired the necessary
stature of the occasion.
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| Entec
has considerable experience of lighting
Bollywood shows. Here they again worked
with leading show producer Dr. Bhupindar
Khambay, who’s been producing
high profile international Bollywood
shows for 18 years. In fact, Entec supplied
the lighting for his first ever major
show all that time ago, and he has kept
coming back to them ever since. |
Khambay
comments, “Over the last
5 or 6 years, lighting and technical
production has become absolutely
paramount in these shows. Entec
are a great bunch and they always
help to pull the whole thing together.
I respect them greatly”.
Black and Sonpal together honed
ambitious ideas into a workable
and spectacular solution, with
a get-in the day before, and
several hundred performers to
rehearse before ‘going
live’.
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The rig consisted of 6 over-stage
trusses and two upstage/downstage
trusses, completing a grid pattern
in the air. All were constructed from
A Type - four trusses measured 70
foot long, and four were 50 ft.
At the back of stage the Entec team
built six 24 ft high truss towers,
again out of A-type. These were secured
to the ground on special bases and
each one anchored at the top with
a motor point up to the far upstage
truss. The VL 2500s were scattered
between these 6 towers, creating a
high impact visual effects ‘wall’,
complete with beam technology and
a matrix of colours and patterns slicing
through from the back. A collection
of plasma screens were also dotted
about the trussing for additional
visual eye-candy.
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Another six 24 ft high truss
towers – three per side
– ran down each side of
the stage in a semi-circular
effect, flown off quarter circles
of A-type truss, ‘landed’
gently onto the stage floor
for stabilisation.
All the trussing, including
the side towers was up-lit with
a total of 22 Martin MAC 300s,
primarily floor mounted.
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The design also included 48 other
Vari*lites – a mix of Entec’s
2202s and 2402’s - which were
distributed between the side and front
trusses.
There was no skimping on the generics
either, ‘conventionals’
being an essential tool in creating
those massive epic Bollywood looks
so characteristic of the genre of
lighting. Sonpal used 24 bars of 6
on the rig, plus six Source Fours
for key-lighting plus Entec’s
four Xenon Supertroupers – the
latter located at FOH.
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Control was via two Avolites
Pearls. Sonpal ran the main
stage lighting using one console
and Dave Gibbon ran all the
floor MACs and some other fixtures
on the second one, and Entec
also supplied a spare Pearl
for back-up. All Dimmers were
an Avolites 72 way and a 48
way, and they utilised two Entec
36 way moving light power distribution
units.
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Entec’s crew were Dave Gibbon,
Richard Hutton on dimmers and tech’s
John Lahiffe and Urko Arruza. “The
lighting rig went up like a dream”
says Dave Black, “We spent time
prepping it all properly in the warehouse
which really helped when we got to
site. The crew were marvellous …
and working with Entec, as usual,
is an excellent all round experience”
Khambay states, “Everything
I envisioned was delivered lighting
wise, and Entec really helped with
the logistics. They are always there
for you to help out in any way possible
and I look forward to working with
the team again very soon”.
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