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Middle East got all that jazz: grandMA went with Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival

Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival

Once again, the Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival took place in Dubai's Media City Amphitheatre. It was the 8th edition of the festival which featured artists like The Brand New Heavies, David Gray and James Morrison.

A dynamic environment for the wide variety of artists

For lighting control, the show's lighting designer and operator Paul Smith relied on a grandMA system solution consisting of 1 x grandMA full-size console, 1 x grandMA light as a backup, 1 x MA NSP (Network Signal Processor) and a laptop running grandMA 3D for pre-programming and show adjustment.

“The requirement was to create a dynamic environment for the wide variety of artists who were performing, ranging from classical Arabic Jazz to R&B to Acid Jazz to Soul”, explains Smith, “I needed a versatile desk that was familiar to the two visiting LD’s - Tom Lesh and Bill Adie, with Liz Berry programming and operating for Bill - as well as a console that enabled me to busk through three acts I had never heard before and one that I only partially knew. Aside from that, the Art-Net output to drive the media servers, and the versatile effects engine meant that the only choice was a grandMA.”

The rig that Smith controlled with his grandMA included 24 x Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1200s and 24 x Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1200s, plus some Martin moving lights, a plethora of PAR64s and a high-res LED screen fed by two Green Hippo media servers.

Artes supplied the lighting, rigging and staging equipment, IBS Decor delivered the LED screens and media servers.

About MA Lighting

MA Lighting International, based in Paderborn, Germany, is the dedicated sales, support and service entity for the renowned grandMA control systems, digital dimming systems, networking tools and media servers of MA Lighting Technology, based near Wuerzburg, Germany. The product range offers cutting-edge solutions for control and dimming, including the award-winning grandMA/grandMA2 consoles, the popular Lightcommander and reliable digital dimmer racks and packs. With its innovative MA Video Processing Unit (VPU) MA bridges the lighting and video worlds.

Today, MA Lighting is respected for its technical knowledge and has achieved a unique international reputation for its operational philosophy. The company offers 25 years experience and strictly follows a professional user-centric approach, getting as close as possible to the market via its own international offices and support centres in the UK, North America, Latin America, the Middle East/India, Asia Pacific and Scandinavia/Eastern Europe/Russia – supported by a world-wide distribution and service network.

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