Christie Lites of Canada supplied an abundance of MACs for the two-week celebration, including a huge Papal Mass held at Downsview Lands on July 28th. The Papal Mass attracted a crowd of some 800,000 and was broadcast live to a worldwide television audience of millions. Over 300 Martin fixtures were used on the main stage where the Papal Mass was held, all supplied through Martin Professional's Canadian distributor Erikson Pro/Martin Canada.
The lighting designer for the event was Kelly Jones, a long-time user of Martin lighting. "The lighting was designed to not overwhelm," Kelly explains. "We wanted to keep the focus on the religious icons such as the huge cross, as well as the Pope himself." Even the trussing design above the stage had its own religious association in the form of concentric circles representative of a halo. A pair of curved trusses in the form of a cross, graced the sides of the stage, embracing the set.
Kelly incorporated 74 MAC 600 NT wash lights, 54 MAC 500 profile spots, 24 Pal framing spots and his favourite automated fixture, 74 MAC 2000 profile spots, into the lighting design. "The idea was to cut down on focus time so I went with automated fixtures, and I wanted a fixture with an HMI bulb so I chose the MAC 2000." Projection surfaces for colour washes were provided by the dominating cross and towers along with scrim on the back of the stage. "I also used 12 Pals on the front tower to dress up the stairways and front set without spilling onto faces. I illuminated the Pope himself with a combination of MAC 2000s and fresnels and used MAC 500s, 600s and Pals for audience lighting."
Several other rental companies were also involved in the two weeks of events, many also using Martin fixtures.
(Lee Baldock)
