The UAE Pro League celebrated its standout performers in August with a grand awards ceremony held at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Abu Dhabi. No.1 Events & Productions designed and delivered the production with its creative and technical teams handling everything from creative direction and technical production to the co-ordination of live performers.
No.1 Events & Productions entrusted Alexander Kotov, cofounder and Technical Director of Cueline, with creating a lighting design that would live up to the occasion. “This was a prestigious event with an array of high-profile guests,” he began. “There were senior officials, football stars, club representatives and, of course the UAE Pro League Chairman, H.E. Abdulla Naser Al Jneibi in attendance, so we were needed a system that worked equally well for the VIP audience and for the broadcast cameras.”
The overall concept from No.1 Events & Productions saw the ballroom transformed into a stadium with a playing field made entirely of LED floor, connected seamlessly to the main LED screen. “The venue presented several significant challenges – load capacity, a roof height of no more than 6m and an unforgiving white ceiling,” Kotov explained. “With only 250kg per rigging point and with those points not located in our preferred positions, we had to make a couple of creative rigging decisions to get every fixture where we wanted it.”
With the weight limitations and such a restrictive ceiling height, Kotov elected to use the Ayrton Rivale Profile. “It was perfect – its 4° to 52° zoom range meant the low ceiling was not an issue,” he noted. “Opting for the Rivale also allowed us to overcome the other issues of the white ceiling, the number of LED screens, and a laser performer with dancers, all of which meant we needed precise control of intensities and sharp shutter cuts to prevent any spill – the Rivale Profiles did exactly what we needed.” Rivale was used for both broadcast key light and automated followspots, with the two hosts followed by a Lumatrack tracking system.
The busy space filled with dancers and MC movements, plus the LED screen system that flowed from the upright screens across the performance floor, meant inconspicuous yet effective floor lighting was essential. “We wanted floor-level lighting to break up the top light without blocking the LED content, and around the audience where we couldn’t use bulky fixtures, so it was crucial to have small and neat fixtures everywhere.”
A total of 46 Kyalami were rigged in three positions: at floor level behind the performers, around the audience, and on top of the screen. “The Kyalami really proved their worth, giving us depth behind the performers at floor level, separating them from the top light without ever blocking the LED content, while the units around the audience and on top of the screen extended the same look across the whole room without intruding into the picture.”
The wider team included: Show Director, Hassan Abdulhamid; Project Manager, Mohammed Navas; Timecode & Preprogramming, Konstantin Chaika; Technical Director, Mirco Resta; and Disguise Operator, Alexey Vlasov. “It was really satisfying to see the rig deliver on the day,” Kotov concluded. “A huge thanks must go out to the team at No.1 Events & Productions and all the crew involved.”
Photos: No.1 Events & Productions
