With all eyes on South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, SABC (The South African Broadcasting Corporation) set up the hub for its World Cup broadcast studio in Exhibition 1 at the Sandton Convention Centre, central Johannesburg. All the match coverage and several regular programmes are being transmitted from the studio for the duration of the tournament.

With a fabulous set designed by Dewet Meyer and a lighting design by André Rossouw of SABC and Francois van der Merwe of MJ Event Gear, a grandMA full-size was chosen to control all the lighting. This is supplied by MJ and was also programmed by van der Merwe, who is sharing operating duties with Theo Roodt due to the demanding schedule, which includes the accommodation of several regular SABC programmes as well as comprehensive match coverage.

The grandMA full-size is the first choice console of programmer/operator Francois van der Merwe, who has been using the grandMA for the past three years, and specifies it for all his shows. "It's quick and easy to programme, very powerful, and back-up - essential for live TV shows - is really simple," he says. In this case, they are using the grandMA onPC software for back-up, which is free to download on MA Lighting’s website.

In a live environment like this, the grandMA has many useful features - like being able to access the channel faders, tweak parameters and instantly update. "It's one of the first consoles I have used where the manufacturers have really listened to what users want," adds van der Merwe. Everything is run over Ethernet via 1 x MA NSP (Network Signal Processor) and 1 x MA 2Port Node.

The rig includes Robe and Martin Professional moving lights, LED fixtures, generics, scrollers and Robe Media Spinners.

The moving lights, LED sources, trussing and control - including the grandMA - is all being supplied by Johannesburg based lighting rental company MJ Event Gear, and all the white lights/generics by SABC.  DWR Distribution is MA Lighting’s exclusive distributor in South Africa.

Photos – Copyright: Louise Stickland

Picture description: On the left is Francois van der Merwe (MJ Event Gear) and on the right Andre Rossouw (SABC).