Clay Paky Illuminates the NAS Sports Tournament Opening Ceremony

	NAS Sports Tournament

Protec supplied HQ Creative with lighting, video, and rigging for the opening ceremony of the 2015 Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, held at NAS Sports Complex on June 21st.

The lighting aspect of the event was created using 24 Clay Paky Mythos and 14 Clay Paky A.leda B-Eye K10, working together alongside the Sharpy, Sharpy Wash 330, and Super Sharpy -- a purely Clay Paky fixture list.

The venue had to function as a sports arena post show, so the design had to take this into account, staying out of the way of overhead house lighting as not to form shadows for the TV sports broadcast and not interfere with the games being played below.

The rig needed to be lightweight but still pack a punch for such a dynamic and fast-paced show. It also needed to be traditionally theatrical in parts, and this is always a fine balance between bright and "beamy" and slow and moody.

Protec's lighting designer, Aaron Russ, found the Clay Paky Mythos and Clay Paky B-Eye K10 to be the perfect luminaires for the job. As he said, "They pack a lot of power and are very multi-functional which helped as I could use one fixture type to cover all the elements without pulling the roof down."

He went on to say: "They are also very fast, which combined with BlackTrax gave me unlimited follow spot positions, as my entire rig could be used as followspots if needed. This gave me the ability to track multiple stunt performers on BMX, In-line skates, trampolines, and even a back-flipping wheelchair from any position in the room, without having to think about calling followspot operators and with limited rehearsal time, no one missed a cue and the spots were always on point."

The stage had to be lit for TV as well as a live audience. A balance was needed between what looked good on TV and, more importantly, the theatrics for the live audience and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai.

All elements were covered, and thanks to BlackTrax and Clay Paky lighting, everything was where it needed to be, on time, every time, without the possibility of human error. The stage was bright and vibrant with just the right amount of technology versus traditional theatre.

Overall, the event was a success with great feedback from both the client and customer, reports the company.