Blond Productions was honoured, for the third consecutive year, to supply the full
technical for the televised competition Clash of the Choirs held at Global Access
Studios in Fox Street, Johannesburg. Mauritz Neethling from Blond was responsible
for the lighting design, having control on a Grand MA 2 light and an impressive Robe
lighting rig at his disposal.

Filmed for Mzansi Channel on DSTV, the competition saw seven celebrity
choirmasters assemble amateur singers who went head to head at the Clash of the
Choirs SA.

The competition kicked off at the end of 2015, with the finales held in April 2016.
This meant the entire rig – the set designed and created by Dream Sets – had to
come down and be put up again. The set was larger than before and with the studio
on the 6th floor, it was a huge relief to have a lift in the building and a team of
enthusiastic crew on site!

“Dream Sets cleverly created an arena type set which really enhanced the visibility
of the choir,’ said Neethling. “The competition had used the same set for Two
years, and the only elements reused was the Horse Shoe shape, a steel
construction with silk covering which was previously hung over the main stage area,
and this year was positioned over the judges table, creating great reversal shots
and depth.’

While the show incorporated generics such as 2Ks, 1ks and Source-Fours, the Robe
kit comprised of: 24 x Robin CycFX4, 36 x Robin 100 LEDBeam, 24 x Robin 300
LEDWash, 12 x Mini Pointes, 12 x Robe 700E AT Spot, 12 x Robin 600 Beams, 12 x
Robin MMX Spots. The show also included 48 Bright Cue LED Wash. Programming
was on a GrandMA 2 light.

While Neethling was responsible for the Lighting Design, he worked closely with
colleague Heinrich Stroh who was operator and system technician and who took
over as lighting director once the show was on route. MA was used to add AV and
graphic content onto the LED Walls via MA VPU Media Server. “The MA allowed us to
do a lot of programming in a short period of time,’ said Neethling.

With each choir comprising of 20 individuals on stage at a single time, the greatest
challenge was to create mood or ambience. The set was designed to have colour in
the background and from the sides, and a key focus was to ensure visibility of
choir.

Neethling enjoyed the Mini Pointes that punched through the open white, while the
MMX and Robe 700 EATs were used to create patterns and texture over the stairs on
stage.

The show looked fantastic on television. The season ended with Team JR from
Mpumalanga, initially seen as the underdogs of the competition, winning the
coveted title.