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Miss South Africa show illuminated by Robe

2018 was the fourth time Joshua Cutts has lit the Miss South Africa beauty pageant event. The show was staged for the first time at the new Sun Arena venue at Times Square in Pretoria, and Cutts chose to illuminate the show - produced by SIC Entertainment and directed by Gavin Wratten for live broadcast on M-Net (DSTV channel 101) and Mzansi Magic (DSTV channel 161) - with a Robe moving light rig of 170 fixtures. This was the first time Cutts used Robe MegaPointes on a live show.

The event’s overall lighting and technical vendor was Dream Sets, with production manager Eben Peltz on site. The production also used elements of the Sun Arena’s house lighting system, which also includes a large Robe rig and is facilitated by MGG.

Josh Cutts received an initial brief from Gavin Wratten. They already knew they would have access to all the Sun Arena house lights plus specials and extras as needed from Dream Sets’ stock, all of which was necessary as the Sun Arena is a larger space than the Sun City and Carnival City arenas where Cutts had previously lit Miss South Africa.

It was the event’s diamond jubilee year, so Wratten and Cutts hit on the idea of basing the show environment on diamond shapes. They went for an extensive LED set but not a massive slab-like TV screen at the back. This allowed for the set to change and morph into different environmental looks as the show progressed.

Instead, the back wall comprised of LED columns, a combination of 2.9 mm and 4.8 mm surfaces, with 16 x 7-metre high sections spread out over a width span of 28 metres. The centre featured a 5 metre wide LED surface, also 7 metres high.

The main stage was 28 metres wide by 8 deep with a 14 metre ramp extending to the front and a 9 x 6 metre presentation stage at the end of that. Special effects included a kabuki drop at the top of the show to reveal the 12 finalists, and six water features which were integral to the set and also had to be lit.

Cutts used 18 x Robe BMFL Blades for all his key lighting across the main and thrust stages with the fixtures rigged on FOH trusses for maximum reach. Twelve BMFL Spots were used for producing breakup and other effects down the ramp from the stage to the presenter stage at the end of the thrust.

Four V-shaped trusses were installed above the stage for the overhead lighting positions, and 18 x BMFL WashBeams were rigged on these and used for beam work and texturing the stage and set. On these same LX trusses were 28 x Spiider LED wash beams which bathed the stage and set in a rich array of colours and the individual LEDs were mapped for back-of-camera looks and for varying the beam shapes during the aerial scenes.

The 24 x MegaPointes were positioned on a truss running across the back of the stage just above the LED columns. On the floor Cutts deployed 8 x Pointes, with another 16 on the downstage truss to create a crown of beam lights around the stage, while the audience was lit with 18 x LEDWash 800s.

Forty-eight LEDBeam 100s were rigged on ladders between the LED columns and also along the bottom of these for camera filler and additional sparkle. Sixteen Robe ColorWash 2500E ATs were handy for performer specials.

The primary moving light rig was supported with more LED strobes, six other profile moving lights and 152 x LED PARs dotted around the rig and the auditorium, plus 12 beam lights for the audience. Seventy-two conventional profiles were used to light the contestants when on the ramp, and 24 x LED battens framed along the tops of the screens. The house’s two Robert Juliat follow spots were used for the show.

The video playback content - including VT play ins and sponsor logos, graphics and stings - were stored on three Green Hippo servers, and all the lighting was run from two GrandMA Light consoles with an Ultra Light as a technical desk backstage. The show was fully manually operated. Josh Cutts and his assistant LD and associate Andre Siebrits had five days of programming and three days of rehearsals.

(Photos: Duncan Riley)

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