12 minute read
MAKKAH REGION DIGITAL PROJECTS EXHIBITION
MAESTRO GROUP PROVIDES A TURNKEY SOLUTION FOR THE FIRST EVENT TO TAKE PLACE INSIDE THE STATE-OF-THE-ART JEDDAH SUPER DOME.
Standing at 46m tall with a diameter of 210m, Jeddah Super Dome is an event space of epic proportions. Claiming two Guinness World Records for the world’s largest geodesic dome and largest dome with continuous roof, the newly built arena is set to become a mainstay of the Jeddah Season events programme, hosting some of the standout concerts, sporting events and exhibitions in the Kingdom. The honour of being the first event to take place inside the world’s largest freestanding dome went to the Makkah Region Digital Projects Exhibition – a week-long showcase of the development happening in Western region of Saudi Arabia, focusing on everything from infrastructure, real estate, and heritage site renovation, to entertainment, technology, and planned future projects.
Makkah Province Principality engaged Maestro Group to provide a full turnkey solution for the exhibition, with the company tasked with designing the concept, content, and user experience elements of the project, as well as supplying and operating all technical equipment. With the Super Dome boasting a mammoth 34,636 sq m of covered area, Technical Director, Ed Jarman was under no illusions as to the task involved in filling it. “The first thing you think when you walk into the Super Dome is ‘wow’ – then your mind starts racing at the prospect of having to fill such a gigantic space,” he began. “I’ve been privileged enough to work in some of the world’s biggest and best indoor arenas over the years and this more than stacks up to them.”
Maestro got involved in the project back in November 2020, however, with COVID-19 casting uncertainty on the exact date that the exhibition would be able to happen, the timeline was fluid by necessity. “There were many restrictions in place, but we put all of our efforts into proposing something unique and challenging to deliver,” explained Event Manager, Ahmad Mufti. “We always believed this event would be one of the biggest to happen in Saudi Arabia and would reinforce Maestro Group’s position as one of the leading companies in the market.”
Mufti explained how the team dealt with the uncertainty surrounding the date and conditions of the event. “Our process had ups and downs during the long preparation phase, with no firm timeline to work to. However, we prepared many scenarios – each with its own budget, risk register and timeline,” he commented.
By April, the final show date of 9 June had been settled upon and the work could move from hypothetical to physical. “We had to be ready to move our equipment and start work in Jeddah within 20 days from the date being confirmed,” he revealed. “There were many challenges around this, as we needed to ship equipment while restrictions remained in place, but dedication and an extremely supportive client helped us deliver perfectly.”
The Event Manager was keen to praise the work of Jarman who, according to Mufti, was “on top of everything” during the execution phase. “He made sure that everyone on site was where they needed to be, doing their part at the right time,” he said of the Technical Director.
“Of course, we had a few surprises on the ground since we were the first company working in the Super Dome, but the excellent
communication between the team meant that the job went smoothly.”
‘A VISUAL SPECTACULAR’ With such a huge arena to fill, the Maestro team had to pull out all the stops to ensure that the content wouldn’t get lost within the dome’s cavernous interior. “We incorporated a huge amount of projection, lighting and LED into the design,” said Jarman. “It was a visual spectacular.”
The extensive lighting supply was made up mainly of Vari-Lite fixtures, with 100 VL10 Beamwashes, 70 VL2 Spots, 20 VL2 Washes, 40 VL4000 Spots, 50 VL800 Beamlines, 26 VL3500 Washes, and 42 VL6000 Beams. A further 27 Claypaky K10s, 28 Philips SL Hydrus 350s and 150 SGM P-5s were deployed, with control coming from MA Lighting grandMA3 and grandMA2 full size desks, as well as a grandMA3 light.
The Technical Director explained how due to the size of the space and intricacies of each area within it, the team split the venue into zones, treating each as a mini project within the overall delivery. “The first thing the guests saw was the arrival area outside the dome, where we had two LED screens,” he described, taking TPMEA on a virtual walkthrough of the exhibition. “Then came the VIP lobby, where we had more high-definition indoor LEDs as well as a pianist playing.”
Once guests passed through the VIP lobby, they moved into a secondary lobby area. “This was the first time that the guests were inside the dome structure,” he revealed. “In here, we had an immersive projection with an LED floor bridge, which was raised by around 1.5m.” The walls and floor on either side of the bridge were surrounded almost entirely by projection, with content showing a visualisation of Jeddah cityscape being displayed.
“We produced the content, which showed Jeddah as it was a few years ago before the development, then the buildings rising and the city becoming the modern metropolis it is today.”
Across the bridge, guests passed through an LED arch, which led them into the main exhibition area. “There was an LED tunnel that had outer space-themed content playing inside it to connect between these areas,” Jarman recalled. Inside the main exhibition area, the visual spectacle ramped up another gear, with illuminated planets hung from the ceiling orbiting
Maestro Group Technical Director, Ed Jarman.
around the circular dome and atmospheric video content projected onto every visible surface. “A great deal of thought and planning went into the placement of the projectors, with all the various surfaces inside the dome covered in projection,” Jarman commented.
In all, 70 projectors (26 Barco UDX W40s and 44 Digital Projection Titan Laser 37000s) were utilised around the venue to create the immersive effect. These were joined by more than 1,200 sq m of LED, including 600 sq m of Absen 2.9mm and 300 sq m of Glowshine 4.8mm. Content meanwhile was managed via 24 Dataton WATCHPAX 60 media servers.
As well as the immersive projection, every 20m or so, a video relating to an aspect of the city’s development was playing picture in picture. “Each of these videos had their own soundtrack and voiceover, so it was a huge challenge to get the audio to a level where it could be heard clearly but did not spill over and be audible where the other videos were being watched from,” Jarman revealed. “It is always difficult to regulate sound in a dome.”
Taking on the tricky audio challenge was a full d&b audiotechnik system, with the main hall supply comprising left and right hangs of eight GSL8s per side and a centre fill of eight V8s; the exhibition hall featuring 32 T10s; and the lobby benefitting from six V8s. A total of 28 D80 amplifiers were deployed across the site, while control came from DiGiCo SD7 and SD12 consoles.
Another layer of complexity was added to the project by the fact that there was a concert due to take place in the venue a matter of days after the conclusion of the exhibition. “This meant that even before we’d finished the setup, we were already thinking about the derig and how we’d be able to make way in time to accommodate the incoming concert,” Jarman recalled.
‘IT’S A MONSTER’ While Maestro took care of the vast majority of the project in-house, there were a couple of areas where the company opted to bring in some specialist help in order to ensure that the highest standards were maintained. One such area was rigging and, according to Jarman, there was only one company for the job.
“The venue lends itself to a specialist rigging company, which is why we hired iRIG for the
project,” he stated. “Their experience and expertise were absolutely vital to the success of putting on this event safely.” iRIG Managing Director, Ryan D’Cunha talked TPMEA through his company’s supply for the event. “It was nice to be back working on a fullscale production again,” he began. “The venue is on a massive scale; it’s an absolute monster. We put in more than 120 one-tonne motors and none of them were straightforward dead hangs – they were all bridle points.”
As ever, COVID-19 brought its own challenges, with travel restrictions meaning that a site visit prior to the event was not possible. “We had all the drawings we needed, but nothing beats a site visit to have a proper look at the venue before you get onto site to start the job,” D’Cunha reflected. And sure enough, once the team arrived on-site, they encountered their fair share of unexpected challenges – not least the Super Dome’s powerful cooling system.
“The venue is so well air conditioned that when we got the projectors hung and focused, the trusses were swinging in the breeze, meaning that the projections were moving around and distorted,” D’Cunha recalled. “We worked with the video and projection teams to make sure the placement was right before bracing them off so the fixtures would hold steady.”
Scheduling was also a challenge, as the set builders had already started the build before the iRIG team had arrived. “We had to come to an agreement to stay out of each other’s way,” he revealed. “We worked at the north end, they worked at the south, and when we met in the middle, we alternated night shifts.” However, despite the challenges, D’Cunha praised his team’s work ethic. “When you’ve got the right people with the right mindset, you can overcome any challenge,” he said. “Everyone was on their first big job for a year, so it was an incredibly positive atmosphere.”
The install took two weeks, which included a full maintenance inspection of the equipment. “We didn’t have time to bring our own kit,” D’Cunha confirmed. “We always do a full inspection and maintenance when we’re working with other people’s equipment.”
For D’Cunha, the fact that the exhibition was attended by Makkah Governor, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and his deputy, Prince Badr bin Sultan, made it even more special. “It was an honour to be involved in the first event held at the Jeddah Super Dome,” he stated. “It was fantastic to have a royal visit – I’m sure they don’t accept every invitation that they receive,” he laughed.
Clearly happy to be back living up to his company’s ethos of ‘rigging the big stuff’ D’Cunha reflected on a job well done. “It’s brilliant to be back involved in large bespoke projects again,” he concluded. “The Maestro team was a pleasure to work with, and we’ll definitely be working with them again soon.”
‘A HISTORIC EVENT’ Primary and secondary power was supplied by Aggreko. Project Manager, John Devine talked TPMEA through the setup. “Primary power consisted of five synchronised 350kva generators and a mains 3,200a DB panel,” he began. “Secondary power included everything that the technical teams used for lighting, video and audio.” This comprised eight 400a DBs, six 125a DBs and four 63a DBs. “We also provided over 4km of cable in various lengths and sizes,” he added.
Prior to the project, the Aggreko team received a brief showing power drop locations, cable routes as well as cable lengths that would need to be installed. That was followed up with multiple site visits. “We do this to get a better feel
and understanding of the site and event,” explained Devine. “We were then able to finalise our kit list, crewing and plant for the event.”
The kit was deployed from the company’s local Jeddah depot, with some additional equipment coming in from the Riyadh depot. “The kit arrived on 40ft trailers before being offloaded and loaded into the venue using a 25t crane, hiabs and forklifts,” he described.
As is to be expected on an event of this scale, the project was a challenge by its very nature, with the power and distribution requirements constantly evolving to meet the needs of the client. “The team coped well with the added pressure of last-minute changes,” Devine recalled. “Everyone was on the same page and wanted this to be an amazing and historic event.”
For Devine, the most satisfying part of the project was the way that all the various teams collaborated. “Multiple suppliers came together to make history, producing the first event in such a wonderful venue,” he said. “It was great to be a part of this event and experience this incredible brand-new venue. I hope to do many more events here in the future.”
Devine’s appreciation for the venue was echoed by Jarman, who concluded by giving his final thoughts on the new jewel in Jeddah’s crown. “It’s an extremely impressive venue that could host any type of event,” he stated. “It’s got so much scope for so many different conceptualisations – it could host anything from an exhibition like this, to a huge concert or a massive world title fight.” Photos: Maestro Group www.maestrogroup.com www.irigevent.com www.aggreko.com
SATEL LITE
MODULAR LASER SYSTEM
(r)evolution
Every once in a while, something comes along that tears up the rulebook and revolutionises an industry. This is one of those moments: the Satellite Modular Laser System from the Visionaries of the display industry – Digital Projection.
SATEL LITE
MODULAR LASER SYSTEM
1996
3,000 lumens 60 kg
2003
16,000 lumens 113 kg
2016
27,000 lumens 132 kg
2020
> 40,000 lumens < 40 kg
