Encouraging talent and team spirit in Africa, Shoprite Topstars hosted the Jewel of
the Night singing competition; the grand finale took place on 19 October at
GrandWests Grand Arena in Cape Town. Unfazed Productions JP Willson was proud
to supply the full technical control and direction of the production for his client
Mynie Grove of Amagroove. He was also the lighting designer and worked on a
grandMA2 lite.

Shoprite Topstars is a performance competition run by the Shoprite group of
companies around Africa aimed at benefitting ordinary shop staff – people who
serve and meet shopping customers.

“The competition gave people an international platform where they could experience
being stars, where there was video, technology and lighting,’ said JP Willson from
Unfazed Productions. “Next year will be the tenth anniversary of this South African
initiative which includes Sub-Saharan Africa. The selection starts in May and ends
up with contestants who have to be Shoprite shop-floor workers. It’s a personal
development programme to empower expectation using singing skills as a tool.
Besides Performance and Vocal coaching to show off on their Finals night,
Contestants are coached on personal goal-setting, preparation, execution, time
management and recognising team in the process.’

With a direction theme Game of Thrones meets Prince of Persia, the elaborate set
by Ulrich Biddendal saw an ancient ruin at the start of the production lit with moody
lighting effects. Low lying fog from the MDG Ice Q Fog Machine added a mystical
element as performers dressed as miners came out of the ground. The fog was lit
from the side, creating a blowing effect.

The set transformed into a large temple, and as the upbeat acts took to the stage,
they were lit in bright colours reflecting the name of the show, Jewels of the Night
“All the colours were bright, a magenta pool, bright cyans, greens and oranges, all
symbolic of jewels,’ said JP. Most of the songs had a deep blue /UV as a base, and
the Robin LED 600s and Robe 700 Wash, achieved this without any issue, and
allowed all the other “toys’ to play.

Programming was on a MA2 lite console. “The desk is awesome,’ he said.’ There
are no words for it, I love it.’ JP incorporated over 7 universes of DMX and over
300 sequences were programmed for the show. All fixtures were in Full mode,
which allowed for Ring control to create different looks, and creative effects.

There were 130 fixtures including 20 x Robe Pointes, 12 Robe 700 Spot, 12 Robe
ColorSpot 700 EATs, 12 Robe ColorWash 700E AT, 21 Robe 600 LEDWash, eight
Robe Robin 300 LED Wash, 12 Robin 100 LEDWash, 12 Martin MAC 250 Entour,eight
Martin MAC 250 Wash, four Martin MAC 600 Wash, four Martin Atomic, 36 Par 64, 18
ETC S4, ten Ayrton WildBeams, Blinders, Profiles, LED Pars and LED Balls. For
smoke effects JP used the MDG Ice Q Fog Machine and eight Chauvet Vertical
Smoke machines for effect, as well as two MDG Hazers that gave a really fantastic
haze for the Lighting.

“The Pointes were great,’ JP commented. “From one fixture you can create multiple
looks, have a beam, effects light or use it as a wash tool. I pushed it but it did not
reach the “Breaking Pointe’.’ The start of the show had all the Pointes shining
straight down & up, and gave subtle twinkles like crystals in the air, further
complimenting the theme.

“I would like to thank Mynie Grove for trusting Unfazed Productions with your
Vision,’ said JP. “I would also like to thank Ultra Event Technical Solutions, Audio
Engineering, SimplyAV, Ulrich Biddendal, Party Design, Fireworks for Africa, Gerda
Kruger and the GrandWests Grand Arena team for making this event come to life.’