Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 2012 called upon lighting designer Mark Hammer to design the lighting systems across three show venues as well as exterior lighting and a retail / demonstration space all in the Overseas Passenger Terminal precinct.
“I was involved with each show producer and designer as each show had their own specific requirements,” explained Mark. “From lasers, to colour and intensity changes, from rock bands to DJs, skateboard ramps to portable forests I had to cater for all these elements. And above this there needed to be an exact focus for the media. There is a large contingent of video and still photographers and the lighting must be of a standard that they can get high quality images for their client, publication or for sale.”
The trick revealed Mark is to find the balance to keep everyone happy, including himself! This year, Mark turned to the Clay Paky Alpha 700 Profile, the only 700 watt automated spotlight with framing system available on the market.
“The Clay Paky Alpha 700 Profile proved to be a very useful instrument,” he remarked. “It combines a lot of the features of the larger fixtures in a compact unit. The beam angle and shutters were an important element in shaping the catwalk and featuring elements in shows.”
The size of the Clay Paky Alpha 700 Profile was very important especially in an environment where aesthetics were paramount.
“You get all the features such as the shutters, the gobo range and the zoom range in a small package which was perfect,” said Mark. “This was ideal and we had a very limited trim height and needed a fixture that was compact. Plus they were easy to use, had a good light output and came up well on the camera. They’re a very handy fixture.”
Also in the rig was thirty-six of the latest Pro Shop LED Pars which Mark describes as amazing.
“They are so punchy and have a nice tight, clean beam angle,” he remarked. “It’s not like you’ve got a fixture that’s bouncing light everywhere – you get some nice tight beams. They’re great for truss lighting but I used them on Fashion Week to light up the ceiling. It just gave some depth to the venue which they didn’t think was possible so I was really happy with that.”
Control was a couple of MA Lighting grandMA’s and a grandMA2 console with Matt Tunchon, Scott Rogers and Toby Sewell assisting with programming and operating.
“Each of them has their own designer qualities and great temperament for fast turnaround situations,” noted Mark.
The massive task of Technical Producer was expertly tackled by Nick Macfie of Production Technologies. The lighting system was supplied and installed by the team at PRG. Luke Oneil was the Account Manager and the Team Leader was Don McGregor.
“This event is very particular, but no task was an issue and everything was done with a minimum of fuss,” concluded Mark.
Photography: Lucas Dawson Photography.
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