The platform for a large opening order was provided by the recent Singapore National Day Parade, as Showtec director of sales, Lionel Lee, explained. "We were looking for a new light to replace the Netscan 4k which Steve Neild, lighting designer of NDP 2003 (Singapore's National Day Parade 2003), had specified in his equipment list." Attracted by the combination of brightness and flexibility, the company enquired about Coemar's new Flex range, with the result that Steve Campbell, Coemar sales manager, Far East, issued an invitation to Showtec MD Henry Ang to view the lights at their source - in Italy. Instead, Steve Neild attended - and promptly gave them the green light. "He came back full of praise and we made the decision to purchase 28 iSpot Flex and 24 iWash Flex, based on his recommendations," reports Lee.
All the new moving heads were pressed into duty at NDP 2003. The 24 iWash Flex fixtures were placed on the running track around the stadium, and used to create a wash across the field, whilst the 28 iSpots were placed high at the top of the audience galleries, about 17m off the ground and 50m away from the field. Gobo effects from the iSpot were focused onto the football field, which was covered by a huge, light grey tarpaulin.
It was in 1992 that Henry Ang set up Showtec Communications Pte with the aim of being a leader in the technical rental industry in the Asia Pacific region. The company's core business remains in rental, and today they have fully-fledged operations in Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, with a head office in Singapore. The Coemar move couldn't have come at a better time. Having just set up an office in Bangkok to service the rental industry in Thailand, Henry Ang at the same time saw an opportunity to develop the equipment sales and distribution - and so his discussions with Steve Campbell took on a new momentum.
"Since taking delivery, we have been encouraging LDs to try our new iSpot and iWash heads, and educating them about the attributes of Coemar products," continued Lee. "We will also be using a lot of the Coemar Flex range for most of the shows, which we will be directing technically, in order to maximize the exposure of these fixtures."
(Ruth Rossington)
