Ignite is an annual event that highlights new talent from the Universal Music group, presenting exceptional new Universal Music acts to a broader audience. This year, Olivia Dean, Sebastian Schub, and Sienna Spiro performed in Sydney, Australia, at an exclusive event attended by a select group of guests.
Jay Productions & Events recognised that this prestigious event was an ideal fit for its new Martin MAC Aura XIP moving head wash light, featuring a radical aura filament effect and complete pixel control with video mapping capabilities that can be applied to the beam, aura, or both.
“Before purchase, we came to realise that we required a reliable and bright IP-rated wash light,” explained Phillip Dearle, General Manager. “After tedious research, we decided on Martin’s MAC Aura XIP and purchased 32 units.
“The most outstanding feature for us was its impressive size-to-light output ratio. Despite its compact and lightweight design, it has delivered exceptional performance. The balance of efficiency and output has made it a game-changer in our inventory.”
Since Jay Productions & Events’ acquisition, they have been consistently in use. Their performance has been outstanding, delivering reliability and efficiency without any issues.
“We have been thoroughly impressed and are excited to continue using them even more in the future,” added Phillip. “It perfectly filled a gap in our inventory for a mid-range fixture – something we had been missing for quite some time. Until now, we didn’t have a moving wash that was IP-rated, and this addition has significantly enhanced our capabilities. It has given us greater flexibility and confidence, especially for outdoor and weather-sensitive applications.”
Due to the MAC Aura XIP’s integration with Martin’s P3 System Controller and its seamless compatibility with the Martin VDO Sceptron build, it has become an essential part of Jay Productions & Events’ inventory. This level of integration enhances the overall visual cohesion, allowing for more dynamic and creative designs with minimal effort.
The Ignite event was held at the intimate Beta Bar in Sydney, where you can get close to the act. Lighting designer Ziggy Ziegler was tasked with creating his magic after receiving a brief from Universal Music and the creative mind of Natalie Vincini.
A wall of colour and beams, mixed with rock and roll blinders, along with a canopy of LED lights, formed part of the initial design brief for the stage. It had to be capable of producing rock and pop music looks, filling the frame for camera shots and creating Instagram moments while maintaining an intimate, small-venue feel. A later adjustment to the brief called for limited periodic use of colour, and the majority of the looks to have a tungsten live rock feel as the base.
The MAC Aura XIP were to be multi-purpose lights, with four songs each for three bands, performed with minimal sound checks and no rehearsal or plotting time; they had to be very flexible and quick to program. So they had to be beams, wash, floods, strobes, blinders, and be small, light and easy to rig on a pipe and truss arrangement in a hurry. Twenty Martin MAC Aura XIP were rigged on upright truss and pipe behind the band from floor level to four metres in the air.
“The ability to pixel map them whilst still using them as a regular wash light and beam light was great,” commented Ziggy. “They are small, light, have nice dimming and can zoom wide or be very narrow beams. They strobe well and are reliable. The flower Aura effect is fabulous eye candy. I can get a lot of looks out of them, no matter how many I have.”
At times, the MAC Aura XIPs were regular wash lights or beam lights; however, during some songs, Ziggy wanted to use video content across them or just across the Aura filament effect part of the light. Initially, he asked Jay Productions to create a map of the Aura Filament and then of the actual Aura LEDs in Resolume, using numerous geometric pattern videos to produce effects. These were either very smooth and soft movements or frenetic, fast-paced scenes.
“Using about four layers on Resolume, this worked a treat,” remarked Ziggy. “Jay Productions created a console switch macro to switch between Resolume to map them or run them as direct lights with the ability to switch this live during the show.”
The lighting design also contained 20 four-way LED blinders rigged behind the band and 42 Martin VDO Sceptron LED strips mounted to a long pipe running above the stage, forming a canopy that covered both the stage and the audience. This was also pixel-mapped in Resolume, so the exact effects in the MAC Aura XIP ran through the VDO Sceptron.
Photos: Jessica McDonald
