Singapore – The Claypaky Mythos was exclusively selected to power the first ever moving-light display at Singapore’s famous New Year’s Eve firework event, the ‘Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2017’ (MBSC 2017) presented by the national performing arts centre ‘Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’.
Sixty Mythos fixtures were chosen by Singapore-based special effects company Intermay Magix and supplied by local rental outfit Showtec Group. Intermay Magix’s Samson Phua worked as creative director on the MBSC 2017 project alongside lighting designer and programmer Michael Chan. Michael and Samson used the Mythos fixtures to complement the stunning fireworks in an integrated display aptly named ‘New Dawn’.
“In the event’s 11-year history there has never been an integrated moving light element,” explains Samson. “One of our key pitches to Esplanade when bidding for the design contract was that we would use the powerful beams of light to frame the firework display and provide spectacular stand-alone visuals. We knew the Mythos was powerful enough to accomplish this vision.”
Michael and Samson’s innovative design centred around five solar aspects or phases: Rising Dawn, Vibrant Dawn, Fast and Furious Dawn, Runaway Dawn and Glamorous Dawn.
“We built a spherical rig in the centre of the 360-hectare bay that represented the sun,” explains Samson. “We then placed the Mythos around its circumference and along the eight sun beams that emanated from it.”
From here, the Mythos’ 470-watt parallel beams created a moving net of autumnal oranges, fiery reds and sky blues, thanks to the fixtures’ exceptional CMY colour mixing and 14 x special colour filters. This evolving network of beams weaved into the air and was reflected in the waters below creating an impression that the display itself was contained by light.
“The Mythos is strong enough to project beams in an expansive outdoor environment without getting lost,” says Samson. “The beams were also bright enough to break through the lights of the huge firework display at the centre of the rig. Additionally, the fixtures were far easier to set up than other lights on the market and were much more versatile in what they offered us.”
Samson refers to the dual operation modes of the Mythos: it is capable of being a highly advanced spotlight which produces a large beam with a zoom range of 4° to 50° (1:12 ratio) and a ‘beam’ light with minimum fixed beam angle of just 2.5°.
The super-quick PAN and TILT (PAN = 540° – TILT = 244°) action of the Mythos allowed Michael to create the show’s signature curved lighting looks.
“A key point in Michael’s lighting design was to form a series of curves by moving and overlapping the beams of light,” explains Samson. “These framed the firework display from below and gave the illusion that the fireworks were exploding out of a vase.”
Samson, who has created show designs for the launch of Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War opening event in Marina Bay Sands and the Martell NCF launch in Singapore, explains what it means to work on such a prestigious project: “The Marina Bay Countdown is the biggest first and last show of the year in Singapore, this means that only the best design could have been chosen. It was also the first time that moving lights had been integrated and showcased on this event. Michael, I and the rest of the Intermay Magix team are all extremely proud to have been part of it and the Mythos was key in realising our design.”
Acoustic & Lighting System Pte Ltd is Claypaky’s distributor for Singapore.
http://www.acousticlighting.com/