6 minute read
Morissette is Made
FAMED FILIPINA SINGER, MORISSETTE, RETURNED TO DUBAI IN AUGUST TO TREAT HER UAE FANS TO A HEADLINE PERFORMANCE AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTRE’S ZABEEL HALL, WHERE ECLIPSE STAGING SERVICES SUPPLIED THE AUDIO-VISUAL TECHNOLOGY TO DELIVER A MEMORABLE NIGHT FOR MORE THAN 4,500 GIG-GOERS.
Hailing from the Philippines, singer Morissette Amon – known simply by her stage name Morissette – entered the limelight as a runnerup on TV5’s Star Factor when she was just 14.
Along with an appearance in the Philippine version of The Voice in 2013, she has since enjoyed a successful career and has even been dubbed ‘Asia’s Phoenix’. No stranger to the UAE region, Morissette performed in Abu Dhabi with her group, ASAP Birit Queens back in 2017. However, this year would mark her first solo performance within the region as she brought the show Morissette is Made to Dubai’s World Trade Centre.
La Verdad Events Management was tasked with bringing the Dubai’s rendition of the performance, all in cooperation with Wish 107.5. Despite suffering vocal issues on the day, the singer was still able to hit the stage, much to the pleasure of the 4,500 strong audience. A noteworthy number as Morissette is Made was the first ever sold-out Filipino concert the region has ever experienced.
Handling technical support for audio, lighting and video was eclipse Staging Services. Jhune Lenon, Senior Project Manager for eclipse explained how the company was brought into the project. “La Verdad Events Management is a new organisation here in the Middle East and this was their first project,” began Lenon. Despite this, La Verdad was able to bring the spectacular to the region with the backing of Wish 107.5.
“La Verdad got in contact with us following a recommendation from our other clients,” stated Lenon. Once on board, eclipse began talks with Morissette’s team.
“The stage design and technical rider came from her Philippine production team and, with their permission, we enhanced it,” said Lenon.
These enhancements included changing the LED screens to a much higher resolution product as well as upgrading the audio and lighting package. Finally eclipse added an extra element of thrill using CO2 cannons with the support of Stage FX – the special effects arm of the eclipse Group.
“There really weren’t too many challenges on the project,” enthused Lenon. “Despite working with a tight set up schedule and liaising with multiple companies and suppliers, the event went well.”
The Project Manager reminisced the reception the singer received on the night. “The atmosphere throughout the evening was fantastic and the comments of appreciation from clients, the touring team and audience members have been overwhelming.”
Lenon cited communication and proper planning as key to this event’s success. “Credit has to go to our crew who are all truly hardworking professionals,” continued Lenon. “I am proud and grateful for each and everyone of them.”
Lenon said the Philippine suppliers were equally happy with the show, namely Stella Sison, Executive Vice President of Stage Production Specialists who sent her thanks to eclipse for its support, expertise and professionalism. “Here’s to more collaborations in the future!” he exclaimed.
Alex Menor, eclipse’s Head of Video, oversaw the instalment of the updated LED requirements. The product in question was a 2.6mm Unilumin UpadIII for the centre stage backdrop.
“The LED backdrop was motorised meaning it could split down the middle into 2 parts, creating an entry and exit point for artists,” explained Menor. “We mapped the entire LED stage into a single display output of 4608px width by 1344px hight.” The UpadIII was also used for the 2 IMAG screens, which flanked the stage. “We opted for a high resolution product for the IMAGs to offer more clarity for the content and camera footage for the audience to enjoy the visual effects,” said Menor. For the backend of the LED set up, Menor and his team opted for the Green Hippo Taiga V4 media server. Also provided were 2 Analog Way Ascender 48 switchers (one main and one backup) to convert from the in-house graphics to the touring Resolume system. The touring crew had a VJ operator but the rest of the crew including camera director and operators were provided for by eclipse. “Looking at the whole picture of the LED, control and camera set up, we encountered minimal challenges as we prepared and tested all the kit, piece by piece, before the actual build,” continued Menor. “Only the opening and closing of the screen on the centre stage needed a couple of rehearsals to synchronise it to Morissette’s entrances and exits. But after our operator rehearsed a couple of times it was pretty much show ready!”
For the lighting rig, eclipse supplied a myriad of fixtures including 42 Martin by Harman MAC Auras, 32 Claypaky Sharpys, 16 Sharpy Wash 330’s, 12 Stormys and 18 SGM P-5’s. Also on the rig were 2, Lycian 4000W Followspots. Leading the design was Senior Lighting Technician, Junder Luzon.
“Similar to the video team, we didn’t face any major challenges before arriving on site. All the fixtures and cable looms were all set and ready for action,” commented Luzon. Finally for control, eclipse supplied an MA Lighting grandMA2 full size along with a back up grandMA Light.
To complement the visual feast, eclipse provided a complete audio system, made up of d&b audiotechnik J, V and Y Series boxes. For the main left and right hangs the company deployed 8 V8’s with 2 V12’s per side. There were also a pair of delay hangs, each comprising of 4 Y8’s and 2 Y12’s just past the half-way point of the venue.
Discussing the audio set up for the performance was eclipse’s Senior Audio Engineer, Wissam Shaheen. He explained how the audio set up had been specially selected for the architecture of the room. “With the Zabeel Hall having such a low ceiling, this particular d&b configuration produced the appropriate level of SPL coverage and tonal consistency for each audience member.”
For sub reinforcement Shaheen and the rest of the audio crew deployed an array of 16 J-Subs in 8 positions across the front of the stage. The system was powered by D80 amplifiers with Lake LM44’s and DS10’s used for networking and system control. the request of the touring crew, eclipse supplied an Avid Profile for both FOH and monitor positions. FOH duties were taken care of by Morissette’s engineer, Rards Corpus, while eclipse’s Senior Audio Technician, Ronald Eugenio, looked after monitors. “Stage monitoring was a mixture of in-ears and wedges,” stated Shaheen.
La Verdad Events Management’s Department Head for Promotions, Mhel Lingat
“All the wedges were d&b M4’s driven by D80’s along with a V-Sub for drum fills.” Morissette and her support act, Sam Concepcion, also had Sennheiser G3 IEMs as per their request using personal custom headsets. As a Sennheiser endorsed artist, Morissette used a 2000 Series handheld microphone with a 935 capsule. “For the other acts including Sam Concepcion and Wishful 5, we used Shure UR2 handhelds with UR4 receivers paired with a UA874 Active Antennas,” stated Shaheen.
Also on site for the performance was Dubai based MEI, which supplied all the backline for the show.
Clearly pleased with its first official project, Mhel Lingat, La Verdad Events Management’s Department Head for Promotions spoke about the collaboration with eclipse Staging Services.
“eclipse exceeded all our expectations with their world-class audio-visual technology. The quality of their sound system highlighted the vocal skills of the singers, while the lighting effects in the venue raised the bar for Filipino concerts in the UAE. Indeed, the massive success of the event was made possible by the worldclass team and the technology of eclipse.”
Lingat, Event Organiser for La Verdad Events Management. “The sound and lighting effects were more than awesome! It was epic and no doubt left an indelible mark in the hearts of the guests.”
With 4,500 satisfied fans and a new standard being set for Filipino productions in Dubai, it’s unlikely this will be the last production from the Philippines to make a temporary home within the UAE region. Photos courtesy of eclipse Staging Services. www.laverdadevents.com
www.wish1075.com www.eclipse.ae
