Stage One was responsible for building the Paul Bonomini designed set for the opening ceremony, which highlighted the history of the region, including shipping and pearl diving. Students of Aspire played a starring role in the performance.
The set included several stages, a huge desert backdrop, billowing wave effects and the movement of a dozen aerial performers swimming 'underwater' across the set, using Stage One's Q-Motion control system. To achieve this, Stage One mapped each individual performers movements, using a joystick control, and recorded them as macros in the Q-pos controller. These programmed movements were then played back in real time, saving huge amounts of rehearsal and programming time.
Jim Tinsley, technical director, Stage One, said, "We understand how important live events are and the need to get it right." He added, "Our QMotion control system is ideal for an event like this as it allows the accurate movement of people and objects in a very theatrical way and importantly, it is incredibly reliable."
Designed to celebrate sporting achievement, Aspire has the largest indoor sports dome in the world, providing not only a landmark development for Qatar, but the wider region also.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
