Unlimited Visibility Lighting Design (UVLD) put the pedal to the metal for the dynamic Mazda National Dealer Meeting held recently at the San Diego Convention Center. UVLD employed a large package of automated lighting fixtures and control systems for the annual event where Mazda’s 2007 models took center stage. The event was produced by Corporate Magic, with Melinda Lovelace serving as executive producer.
“The rig was very large and spread out because Mazda required a drive-on stage with a turntable as well as a 100x200-foot area upstage,” explains UVLD associate designer/programmer Cameron Yeary, who worked under UVLD principal lighting designer and Emmy award winner John Ingram.
UVLD specified a total of 265 automated fixtures consisting of 114 Martin Mac 2K Profiles, 79 Mac 2K Washes, 15 VARI*LITE VL3000 Spots, 12 Mac 600s, 15 Syncrolites, and 30 Color Block DB4 LED units.
The Mac 2K Washes and Spots made up the bulk of the work units washing the stage, spotting the cars, handling gobo treatments and specials. Due to their clean optics and unmitigated brightness, the VARI*LITE spots were chosen to handle the custom projection of text and symbols, both during the car reveals as well as during the traditional presentations.
“The custom gobo package in the VARI*LITES gave us the tools to add a little drama to the product reveals,” explains John Ingram. “For one reveal, the spot fixtures created arrows on the convention center floor indicating which direction the car should turn. In another reveal, we projected words such as ‘unexpected...athletic...exciting’ as the car drove by, and for Mazda’s CX9, we projected a graphic array of number 9s.”
The Syncrolites acted as wow-factor lights, punching up the cars during their drives and showcasing hero shots on the turntable. The Color Blocks were deployed inside the upstage set pieces, dubbed "cubes," which were actually video cubes outfitted with projectors. The Color Blocks lit the non-projecting sides of the cubes adding depth to the set.
Video and audio was provided by Alford Media. The event’s technical director was Eric Hagström of Alford Media; Tracy Irwin served as head electrician, assisted by Jeff Quinn.