Celebrating the very best of Namibian musical and recording talent, the 2015
Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) was staged at the Swakopmund Indoor
Sports Centre, in the coastal city of the same name, with full technical production
delivered by Windhoek based dB Audio Namibia for producers Rockstar 4000.
The eye-catching lighting scheme was created by Jonathan Bandli from design
practice Bad Weather in Cape Town, and included over 100 Robe moving lights.
The show, sponsored by a combination of Mobile Telecommunications Company
(MTC) and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) who broadcast it live, was
the second NAMAs for Jonathan, having been asked on-board last year by dB Audio
Namibia to set the scene with a production design incorporating the visual mediums
of lighting, video and set.
With 20 Awards categories recognising all areas of the very diverse Namibian music
scene and 20 actual live performances, the show was somewhat “action-packed’, so
Jonathan really needed to push as much dynamics as possible out every visual
aspect.
The Robe count included 18 x BMFL Spots, 24 x Pointes, 12 x LEDBeam 1000s, 24 x
LEDWash 600s, eight LEDWash 300s, 12 x LEDBeam 100s, eight 600E Spots and six
ColorWash 700E ATs.
It was the first time Jonathan had used BMFL Spots, a new and important
investment by dB Audio Namibia, and he was really excited about the prospect. Like
many, he was extremely impressed with the brightness.
The LEDBeam 1000s were also new to the party, and these were spaced in between
the BMFLs on the mid and upstage trusses where they created a very potent back
wash. He also had two LEDBeam 1000s on the set ramp for creating eye-candy
effects on camera.
A lot of front light was used; there was also a large generic “white-light’ rig in the
venue – and working with high intensity fixtures like the BMFL and the LEDWash
1000, the overall intensity could easily be lifted as needed to optimise lighting
conditions for the cameras, whilst still retaining all the drama.
Having a good balance between the intelligent lighting and generic white lighting
was also essential for the lighting design to work properly.
Jonathan, who also ran all the show lighting on a Road Hog 4, has used Robe
products since the start of his career as a lighting professional, and commented that
the brand is extremely widespread and well supported in Africa via distributor DWR.
“Bad Weather is very proud to have such a good working relationship with dB Audio
who are a really switched-on and forward-thinking company. It was fantastic being
part of their team helping to produce such a memorable NAMA show to the highest
standards of technical and creative excellence’.
