Singapore Celebrates with MAC 2000 Wash XB™ Color

“The MAC 2000 Wash XB’s are awesome! It’s an absolute winner!” That’s how lighting designer Paul Collison described Martin’s new extra bright MAC 2000 Wash fixture’s performance on Singapore National Day 2008.

As in past years, this year’s National Day celebration was on a grand scale with large numbers of Martin automated lighting fixtures used to bathe the Marina Bay venue in swathes of celebratory color: 320 MAC 2000 Washes™, 60 MAC 2000 Wash XBs™ and 20 MAC 2000 Performances™. Lighting production was by Showtec Group of Singapore.

Singapore National Day is an important cultural event for the people of Singapore. Held annually every August 9th, this year the event marked the 43rd anniversary of the city-state’s independence. The event’s location is quite spectacular with over five thousand performers forming a mass picture on a 120 x 80 meter floating platform, a grandstand holding over 30,000 spectators at its side. “It is a truly breathtaking site,” says Paul Collison, who took his position in the lighting hot seat for the second year running.

MAC 2000 Wash XB
The 60 MAC 2000 Wash XB fixtures formed the bulk of the stage’s front wash for the National Day event. The MAC 2000 Wash XB is a 1500 W Fresnel that takes the proven optical and effect qualities of the MAC 2000 Wash and adds even greater brightness, new efficient fans, ballast, starter and more. Replacing 180 standard MAC 2000 Washes from 2007’s event, the MAC 2000 Wash XB’s were fitted with the brand new micro-Fresnel Lens.

“With the XB’s I’m getting more level on stage and much better control, and the new lens has taken them to a whole new level,” Paul comments. “They were sent directly from Martin’s Danish headquarters and gave much more control over the 100m+ throw to the stage.

“The shallow angle of the FOH position caused all sorts of grief last year with excess ambient light being thrown on to the construction site on the other side of Marina Bay. The new lens’ 9 degree spread was perfect to tidy this up. [Note: Using the micro-Fresnel lens at that angle gives a fixture efficiency of 31 percent.] It’s like they were designed for this show. I wouldn’t do another show of this scale without the micro-Fresnel Lens in the arsenal.”

A MAC Performance
Also in the system were some 320 MAC 2000 Washes along with 20 MAC 2000 Performances, which Paul says were ideal for locking down performers on the promenade. “I love the Performances, they are so very versatile. I’d have them on every show I do if I could.”

Video Landscape
This year saw the introduction of video as a major part of the scenic landscape with 1,800 square meters of custom made LED netting framing the back of the stage. “The influence this has on the view is amazing,” Paul says. “I’ve always liked playing with video and lighting however I’ve never had the chance to work with such a massive screen and have total creative freedom to entwine it in to the lighting landscape. Playing between the lighting fixtures and the screens is a lot of fun. On such a big scale as this it’s something you need to be careful with not to take over the whole stage.”

Lighting Production: Showtec Group Singapore
Lighting Designer: Paul Collison
Lighting Project Manager: Addam Crawford
Lighting Design Assistant: Stuart Anderson