From May to June 2017 MJF Lighting’s Shamus Jackson was invited to be the Head LX/Operator on the Tiki Taaane Mahuta Tour. He travelled across New Zealand with his young family in tow and also Taki Rua Productions to thirteen different locations.
“It was a great experience,” he mused. “The equipment was simple to use and robust enough to not have any complications.”
Lighting designer Nathan McKendry developed a simple yet versatile rig for the tour which included Martin MAC Viper DX Washes, MAC Auras, MAC Viper Performances and MJF’s new Showpro FC LED Profiles.
“The LED Profiles provided an extremely vivid array of colours and are the newest addition at MJF Lighting Limited, purchased specifically for this tour to enhance the aesthetics of the design and to help cut down the amount of equipment required,” said Shamus.
Nathan McKendry commented that Tiki Taane Mahuta required lights and planning with flexibility and depth to create a system that could not only satisfy artistically what he needed to achieve b
ut also logistically.
“The main challenge with this production was time, time during production week and also on the road,” he commented. “To achieve this design in the tight schedule, I decided to do the majority of the programming in the MA3D previsualisation suite. This allowed me to do my first watercolour of the production and show the director what we were thinking. I also opted for a rig that was mainly moving heads which allowed me to keep
numbers of units down and the flexibility I needed to achieve some of the looks I wanted.
“The main rig consisted of Martin MAC Viper Performance and Wash units which gave me all the options and a great depth of colour that I needed overhead. Being an Aerial Dance Performance side lighting and height was key, to achieve the height without blowing out the entire space with generic profiles on booms, I used Martin MAC Auras to give me the height but also the ability to isolate in on the aerialists when required.”
Nathan further commented that in the initial planning stages he quickly discovered that he required a lighting team that could plan well in advance and supply quality gear that wouldn’t fail him on the road.
“I chose to work with MJF Lighting from Wellington who provided me with the confidence in the equipment and also I knew that whatever 
challenges we faced on the road would be covered.”
The show had multiple aspects ranging from dancing to haka to aerial acts which all combined to provide an exquisite show. This was all performed to the live soundtrack of Tiki Taane with support from Sam Trevethick from Shapeshifter. The show was developed over ten years by Ta?nemahuta Gray.
Photos: Philip Merry
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