grandMA3 controls Zayed National Museum opening

UAE:

MA Lighting’s grandMA3 control system has been deployed for the opening ceremony of the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi, with programmers Max Narula and Aria Hailey supporting lighting designer Bruno Poet’s vision.

Designed by Foster + Partners and named in memory of the UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed, the museum formed the backdrop for an event that also coincided with the UAE’s National Day and the first public performance by the UAE National Orchestra.

“This extraordinary museum was effectively our set within which we were to visually enhance the drama of the music and the storytelling of the show, as well as to celebrate the building in its own right,” explained Poet.

The lighting design was required to work alongside projection from Moment Factory, illuminate the museum’s textured façade and highlight performers positioned around and on the building. A networked grandMA3 system, managed by Narula, provided control for the extensive rig.

“grandMA3 is really suited to this kind of ceremony, this large special event where you need to allow multiple programmers to work simultaneously in one session, on an extremely large lighting rig,” said Narula.

Narula and Hailey used two grandMA3 full-size consoles for programming and two grandMA3 light consoles for operation. The team also used MVR import and Selection Grid tools to manage the large fixture layout.

“When you’re handling these big, complex layouts of lighting fixtures, MVR’s ability to take the 3D physical shape and attributes of a production from a CAD layout, and then the Selection Grid tools to allow you to manipulate those fixtures with effects, offer huge time saving possibilities,” Naurla added.

The rig also incorporated extensive LED tape within the museum’s triangular architectural sections. “We had LED tape lining the triangular sections of the architecture,” noted Poet. “We hid it in gaps between the straight surfaces, so just the glow was seen, not the tape itself – and because that was installed very late on, programming time was limited.”

Reflecting on the latest grandMA3 software, Poet concluded: “It feels like it’s moving towards a more designer-focused workflow, more helpful for designers like me, who aren’t programmers, who haven’t come from a programming background.”