Download - MA Lighting

grandMAgazine 

10th 

anniversary 

edition 

Spring 12 I English 

Celebrating mobility 

grandMA2 joins “autoSYMPHONIC” 

© Ralph@Larmann.com 

Mobile 

MA Lighting introduces the 

MA onPC command wing...p3-5 

Memorable 

Southeast Asian Games play 

with grandMA2...p12-13 

Merry 

grandMAgazine celebrates 

its 10 th anniversary...p20

I editorial I 

Looking back – and forward – with pride 

Dear friends of MA, 

When we introduced the MA onPC command 

wing to our worldwide distributor network, 

we were thrilled by the praise we received 

for the product. Although we were sure 

that the MA onPC command wing would be 

well received, we never anticipated so much 

enthusiasm. 

It was equally well received by you and was 

one of the most discussed topics on many 

internet platforms. Thank you for that! 

The official start of delivery to the market was 

another milestone that we have now passed, 

so get your wings too. 

To introduce our new MA family member to 

you in detail, we have dedicated three pages 

of this current issue of grandMAgazine to the 

product. Get a closer look there and visit the 

webspecial on our website where you’ll get a 

lot more information. 

of the real-time 3D visualizer and professional 

pre-programming tool grandMA 3D and a 

remote control for PDAs. With the software 

version 4 gobo and fixture preview were available 

on the grandMA. 

During the following years, the grandMA 

evolution has continued in close contact 

with the market. The overall development 

has seen grandMA transformed from just a 

single product into a whole system. Following 

this came the grandMA2 – with even more 

possibilities, power and performance. 

I started this editorial with the MA onPC 

command wing and at this point I will also 

end on it because it is the latest development 

in our long history of products for you, our 

customers – but for sure not the last. So thank 

you for your ongoing support and let’s stay in 

close contact. 

Speaking of information – with this edition we 

are celebrating 10 years of grandMAgazine. 

It is hard to imagine that our first edition dates 

back to PLASA/LDI 2002. These past 10 years 

have been filled with a lot of product developments, 

amazing projects and a constantly 

improving MA System. 2002 saw the launch 

Yours truly, 

Michael Althaus 

2

I product info I 

Mobile, flexible, irresistible 

MA onPC command wing 

• Real-time control for 2,048 parameters 

in combination with grandMA2 onPC 

(up to 65,536 parameters as backup in 

the MA system) 

• Command section similar to grandMA2 

layout 

• 2 A/B faders (100mm); main executor 

• Level-Wheel – dimmer 

• Individually backlit and dimmable silent 

(clickless) keys 

• Light, handy and rock solid, only 6kg 

• Plug & Play: simply connect to your 

notebook 

• Integrated universal power supply 

• Ergonomic design 

The MA onPC command wing paves the way for mobile use of the highly flexible and power ful 

grandMA2 control system. In combination with the free of charge grandMA2 onPC software, the 

MA onPC command wing is a portable 2,048 parameter control solution that can be used in nearly 

any location – and all for an affordable price. 

Designed as the perfect hardware expansion to the grandMA2 onPC software, the MA onPC 

command wing enables the look and feel of the software to be as close to a real grandMA2 console 

as possible. Thanks to the MA onPC command wing – incorporating the command section 

of the grandMA2 consoles – it has never been easier to use the grandMA2 onPC software. With 

a simple USB connection between the MA onPC command wing and the computer running the 

grandMA2 onPC software, all inputs and outputs of a grandMA2 console are available to the user. 

DMX, Midi, Timecode and Analogue Remote are all on hand directly at the MA onPC command wing. 

Wherever it is physically difficult to use a grandMA2 console, the MA onPC command wing, in 

conjunction with the grandMA2 onPC software, enables the customer to program or playback 

within the grandMA2 world. 

Therefore the MA onPC command wing is ideal to be used as a backup solution within the 

grandMA2 system, as powerful control solution on the road or for smaller theatres, shows and 

clubs or for pre-programming. 

Just connect via USB to any notebook or PC 

running grandMA2 onPC 

Parameter Count & DMX Output 

If you are in need of a compact, powerful control solution for an affordable price there is no way around the MA onPC command wing. In combination 

with the grandMA2 onPC software it offers 2,048 control parameters of DMX already. If that’s not enough you can even expand your parameter count up 

to 4,096. 

Please note: When using MA 2Port Nodes (onPC or onPC PRO) for parameter expansion, they only count once and only the one with the most parameters 

is added. If you add a second MA 2Port Node you won’t get more parameters, yet additional DMX connectors. 

Could you think of a more flexible and convenient way to program and run your show! 

3


Unique features 

• 2,048 parameters – up to 4,096 parameters possible 

• 2 DMX out & 1 DMX in (XLR 5pin) 

• Midi in/out (Midi-Timecode/Midi-Note) 

• Analogue remote input 

• XLR 3pin for LTC (Linear Timecode) 

• Slot for Kensington Lock 

• USB 2.0 port 

• Integrated universal power supply 

• Plug and Play: Just connect via 

USB to any PC or notebook running 

grandMA2 onPC 

• Ergonomic design: 

Optimised work angle for fast and 

easy programming 

• Look and feel as known from the 

grandMA2 consoles 

• Individually backlit and 

dimmable silent (clickless) keys 

546 mm 21,5 inch 

70 mm 2,8 inch 

6kg 

395 mm 15,6 inch 

• Light, handy & rock solid: 

just 6kg to easily carry away 

4


MA onPC command wing 

• 6 fader executors (60mm) 

+ 18 fader executor buttons 

• 6 button executors 

• Mastersection with 2 A/B faders 

(100mm); main executor 

• Command section similar 

to grandMA2 layout 

Specifications 

Real-time control for 2,048 parameters in combination with grandMA2 onPC 

(up to 65,536 parameters as backup in the MA system) 

18 fader executor buttons 

6 fader executors (60mm) 

6 button executors 

6 page buttons (Channel / Fader / Button) 

4 encoders 

2 A/B faders (100mm); main executor 

Level-wheel – dimmer 

Grand Master fader (60mm) 

Blackout button 

Main executor area (GO+ / GO- / PAUSE) 

PSU built in; 90–230V (50–60Hz) 

Temperature range 5°–40° (rel. humidity non condensing) 

Connectivity 

2 DMX out & 1 DMX in (XLR 5pin) 

Midi in/out (Midi-Timecode / Midi-Note) 

Timecode (XLR 3pin) 

Analogue remote input 

USB 2.0 port 

Slot for Kensington Lock 

Art. No Dimensions (w x h x d) weight (kg) 

120120 546 x 395 x 70 mm, 21,5 x 15,6 x 2,8 inch 6 

Scope of delivery 

Dust cover, USB cable 2m, Power cable 

5


grandMA2 joins “autoSYMPHONIC” 

The multimedia “autoSYMPHONIC” show ended celebrations for the 

125th birthday of the automobile in Mannheim, Germany. An audience 

of 17,000 attended the spectacle that traced the history of cars and 

gave an insight into their future development. 

For the show, the whole Friedrichsplatz was transformed into a concert 

stage area of 65,000 square meters. Entertainment included a gig by 

leading band “Söhne Mannheims” in addition to the “autosymphonic” 

show that was specially commissioned for this event and performed by 

the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden. One hundred percussionists 

joined in by opening car doors in time with the music, or turning on 

windscreen wipers as well as playing on wheel rims and other car body 

parts with sticks. 

Horst Hamann’s multi-media show used lights and lasers to illustrate 

the history of automobiles. Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon, opted for 

6


a grandMA2 system for control, comprising 4 x grandMA2 full-size and 

4 x grandMA2 light consoles, 4 x MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) 

and 18 x MA 2Port Node. 

“I made the decision to go with the grandMA2 because there are 

no comparable consoles and it is extremely straightforward to use”, 

commented Gerdon. “Throughout the entire pre-and-live programming 

phases and the final show everything worked completely smoothly, 

totally underlining my decision to use the grandMA2.” 

Gerdon explained his lighting design: “Firstly it followed the concept 

of art director Horst Hamann who provided the basics and essential 

effects for the design. It also reflected the symmetry and closeness of 

the space and included its buildings and features into the overall visual 

picture.” 

“The technical and musical dimensions of the event were truly unique”, 

continued the lighting designer. “Our MA network went everywhere, 

utilising 36 DMX universes output by the MA 2Port Nodes.” 

Sascha Matthes, Matthias “Matze“ Meyert, Thomas Dietze, Matt Finke 

and Timo Weinhold worked as lighting operators. The overall technical 

direction was by Jens Diefenbach of m:con Mannheim, also the general 

contractors. Lighting equipment was supplied by EBS Light GmbH. 

7

I show case I 

One network 

German TV broadcaster SWR installs MA System 

The SWR (“Southwest Broadcasting”) was 

established in 1998 through the merger 

of Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR, Southern 

German Broadcasting and Südwestfunk (SWF, 

Southwestcast) and has main offices in three 

cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz. It 

is among the top three broadcasting organizations 

in Germany. 

Now the SWR has finished its new “Funkhaus”, 

a high tech building that was started in 2008 

which is a huge step forward for the broadcasting 

organization in the direction of multimedia 

formats, as well as one of the best 

equipped broadcasting centres worldwide. 

Studio Hamburg MCI GmbH and Despar 

Systeme AG are the companies mainly responsible 

for the installed lighting technology in the 

new Studios A, B, C and D. A whole MA System 

solution was specified by the SWR, based on 

their very good experiences with grandMA 

control over the past five years. 

For this reason five grandMA2 light and two 

grandMA2 onPC were specified for control, 

plus four MA VPU plus (Video Processing 

Units) with HD-SDI for video control, 12 x 

MA 2Port Node, flush-mounted as networking 

components and six dimMA Digital Dimmer 

cabinets – 3kVA 400µs – together giving 476 

circuits of dimming. 

Claus Werner, head of lighting at the SWR, 

commented: “Based on our good experiences 

with the grandMA in the past years, we 

made the decision to stay with the brand 

and use the latest grandMA2 technology. The 

consoles have extraordinary references and 

have proven themselves extremely reliable. 

Furthermore the MA dimmers make sense 

because of their bidirectional communication 

with the grandMA2 consoles. With 

the MA VPU we have completed our 

MA network, and now will benefit from a 

uniform network that communicates via the 

MA-Net2.” 

Content distribution to the huge LED surface 

areas in studios A, B and D is demanding. 

The studios run 197 DMX-universes (A), 130 

(B) and 54 (D) respectively – although the 

displayed content is not high-res. The LED surfaces 

are primarily used for displaying colour 

gradients, graphics and low-res content. 

8

I show case I 

High-res content is mostly realised by the 

use of green screen technology. The Schnick- 

Schnack-Systems video strips have a pixel 

pitch of 10cm and are controlled by DMX512 

via Art-Net. The contents for each studio are 

sent from the MA VPU plus that is controlled 

by a grandMA2 light. For easy and fast displaying 

of the content, the pixel mapper function 

of the MA VPU plus is used, which makes it 

possible to assign the content to the big LED 

surfaces – for example the ‘horizon’ in Studio 

A, which is a surface area of 350 square metres. 

The overall LED surface of all the studios is 

720 square metres. 

B 144 dimmer circuits, Studio C 72 dimmer 

circuits and Studio D 90 dimmer circuits. The 

dimmers are installed in two rooms where the 

MA VPUs are also located. This centralization 

reduces noise emission in the Studios, ensures 

optimised air conditioning and connects the 

dimmers via the shortest cable routes with the 

studios. Furthermore all dimmer processors are 

fully redundant. 

Project team: 

Project Manager Studio Hamburg MCI 

GmbH, Hamburg: Christian Nayda 

Project Manager Despar Systeme AG, 

Mainz: Dirk Henze and Christoph Kreckel 

Planning of Lighting: Bernhardt Schreiber 

und Claus Werner, SWR Stuttgart 

As all the grandMA2s are running on the 

MA-Net2 there is a flexible choice as to 

which console can control which studio. The 

SWR owns three direction rooms that are 

each equipped with a grandMA2 light. It is 

possible to control each studio from each 

of these three direction rooms. To avoid an 

operating error, e.g. two direction rooms 

trying to control one studio in parallel, each 

studio has its own address range and a monitor 

that displays which studio is available. So 

to access a studio, the grandMA2 has to be 

configured for this address range and the 

clearance has to be approved. 

Studios A and B additionally use a 

grandMA2 light in the actual studio for the 

setting mode, while Studios C and D rely for 

this purpose on the grandMA2 onPC software 

installed on a laptop. 

In addition, the studios have MA 2Port Nodes 

installed at different locations which are used 

for flexible input / output of DMX data on the 

MA-Net2, and are fully integrated into the 

MA System. They can be configured quickly 

and easily via the grandMA2 consoles. 

A huge dimmer installation was needed for 

the massive amount of conventional lights. 

Studio A needs 180 dimmer circuits, Studio 

9

I show case I 

“All Lit Up” 

grandMA2 for Opening Celebration of the IRB Rugby World Cup 2011 

© Steve Thomson / WOWstockfootage.com 

The IRB Rugby World Cup was the biggest 

sporting event ever to be staged on New 

Zealand shores. It kicked-off with the Opening 

Ceremony at Auckland’s Eden Park, broadcast 

to a global television audience estimated at 

over 50 million. An estimated 20 0,000 people 

crowded the Auckland waterfront precinct to 

take in the visual spectacle aptly named “All Lit 

Up”. Lighting designer David Eversfield relied 

on a grandMA2 system for control. 

While the show’s lighting design in the stadium 

was created by Paul Collison, who worked with 

a grandMA2 system as well, Eversfield and the 

Opticshock team used 1 x grandMA2 light, 1 x 

grandMA2 onPC and 3 x grandMA 3D for the 

lights spread across the city. 

Eversfield explained: “The waterfront show was 

pre-programmed using grandMA 3D where 

extensive use was made of the ability to have 

complete 3D models of buildings to create the 

skyline. As there was a great desire to keep the 

show as a surprise, only small parts of the rig 

were turned on simultaneously in the weeks 

leading up to the show. Much time was spent 

calibrating the orientation of the fixtures in the 

model to the physical install on the buildings. 

grandMA 3D was essential for viewing the 

show from different parts of the city, allowing 

focus positions to be tweaked without hours 

of travelling across the city. When onsite, 

grandMA 3D also proved a useful fault-finding 

aid as it provided rich visual feedback of what 

the console was telling the lights to do.” 

“Across the city we had 25 different sites 

where lights were installed and they could 

be as varied as the rooftops of buildings, the 

ends of wharves, historical museums and the 

tops of port cranes”, described Eversfield. “It 

sounds relatively simple, because there were 

only a small number of lights at each location, 

but there were so many locations, each with 

its own access issues, rigging problems, power 

supply and so on.” 

Methods used to access these diverse sites 

ranged from pushing hand trolleys up stairs to 

mobilising cranes and helicopters. The production 

also featured lighting and pyrotechnics on 

Auckland’s iconic 328metre (1076 feet) high 

Sky Tower. 

Co-ordinating a lighting system distributed 

over a 3 kilometre (1.86 mile) wide area also 

proved to be challenging. A custom wireless 

network was built in order to control the 

lighting system across the city and between 

the buildings. The show was able to be broadcast 

directly over the network while a custom 

back up system was developed and supplied 

by Artistic Lisence. Art-Net playback devices 

at each site would have the show loaded into 

them remotely from the control room. This 

could then be played locally if the network 

failed or became unstable. 

Jonny Cross worked as operator, Kain Jones was 

the lighting project manager. Head of lighting 

was Mike Skinner, assistant head of lighting 

was Brian Mahoney. Kyle Pharo was responsible 

for the lighting network. Mike Mizrahi of 

Inside Out Productions was the event producer. 

As pyrotechnician worked Martin Van Tiel. The 

show was produced for the Auckland Tourism, 

Events and Economic Development. 

The core of the lighting production was New 

Zealand-based but equipment was sourced 

from as far afield as China, Germany and the UK. 

The system was assembled by the Opticshock 

team in New Zealand. 

10

I show case I 

Performance installed 

grandMA2 for Korea’s new state-of-the-art musical theatre 

Recently built, the Blue Square in Seoul, 

a major theatre in the Republic of Korea, 

relies on a MA Lighting system that combines 

grandMA2 and grandMA “series 1” consoles. 

The new building was especially designed to 

stage only concerts and musicals which differs 

it from most theatres in Korea that are built as 

multipurpose halls. 

Kim Hong Sik, CEO of Hansam System Co. Ltd., 

MA Lighting’s exclusive distributor in the 

Republic of Korea, commented on the choice 

of the MA products: “MA products are known 

as the most reliable and popular among lighting 

designers in Korea so it was an obvious 

choice to vote for grandMA. Furthermore we 

wanted a future-proof lighting control solution 

with plenty of headroom for upgradability to 

incorporate powerful new features and functionality. 

Also the grandMA2’s ability to seamlessly 

integrate video sources of all types into 

the visual equation, and making these straightforward 

to program, were a reason to install 

these consoles.” 

Altogether 1 x grandMA2 light, 1 x grandMA2 

ultra-light, 1 x grandMA full-size and 1 x 

grandMA light were installed in the building 

to control a mixtures of ADB dimmers and 

spots and Martin moving lights. 

11

I show case I 

The quest for gold 

Southeast Asian Games go with grandMA2 

The Southeast Asian Games is a series of sporting 

events held since 1959 every 2 years almost 

without fail. The key objective is to boost the 

cooperation and understanding between the 

countries forming the South East Asian region 

by promoting sports and healthy competition 

in particular amongst young people. 

Hosting the SEA Games for an unprecedented 

4th time since its inauguration in Bangkok, 

Indonesia had high ambitions to once again 

be a perfect host and claim the trophy of being 

the most successful participating country. 

Careful planning went into choosing Jakarta 

and Palembang as host cities. 

Planning for the Opening Ceremony started 

many months in advance. Lighting consultant 

Bernard Chew chose grandMA2 consoles 

for lighting control because he knew of 

the size and importance of the show. Using 

grandMA2 onPC and grandMA 3D to plan 

and visualise the event, he was able to 

conceptualize the show and make necessary 

suggestions. 

For him the support of MA Lighting was key. 

Although a lighting programmer for more 

than 20 years, this was his first intensive 

encounter with an MA system. However it 

proved solid and intuitive, giving him plenty 

of confidence, and ultimately it was the 

support that convinced him to choose MA. 

“MA provided us with the fixture library in an 

instant, and this kind of help was absolutely 

crucial to us!” confirms Chew. That is why he 

also wholeheartedly recommended the consoles 

to Mr. Hendra Lie, the owner of rental 

company Mata Elang and the undisputed 

“King of Stage Lighting” in Indonesia. 

The Organizing Committee also brought in 

Paul Collison from Australia (well known and 

respected for his work on the Beijing Olympics, 

the Shanghai World Expo Opening, X-Factor 

Australia, the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 

Rugby World Cup and Singapore’s National 

Day Parade to name a few). Collison was 

acting as a lighting supervisor whilst also helping 

the programmers working on the three 

grandMA2 consoles. “I was very impressed at 

the ability of the three programmers to change 

their ‘single cue per fader’ mentality and 

really grasp the tracking cue list abilities of the 

grandMA2 system” he states. “Timecode was 

an added complication, however by the end, 

12

I show case I 

they saw the benefits of a sensible tracking 

sequence all cued to a single Timecode show. 

It certainly made a huge difference to the 

quality of the final show”, states Collison. 

The two grandMA2 full-size consoles, a 

grandMA2 light plus two MA NPU (Network 

Processing Units) were provided by Mata 

Elang and Kompas TV. Kompas TV already had 

some experience with the grandMA2 desk, 

but Mata Elang received their two 

grandMA2 full-size and MA NPU just one 

week before the show. 

Mata Elang is the largest rental company in 

Indonesia and also provided over 1000 lighting 

fixtures, ranging from LED wash lights 

to moving lights to search lights as well as 

several large scale video screens. The fixtures 

were split into three ‘worlds’ to enable the 

three programmers to work independently 

on their own range of lights, the results of 

which were merged into one showfile running 

on Timecode. The added benefit was that 

if one console had failed, the system had fully 

redundant backup. The show only used less 

than ¾ of the actual capacity of the system, 

and the MA NPU workload never exceeded 8%, 

showing its exceptional capabilities. 

The system had 34 DMX outputs available 

straight from the factory, but the team decided 

to run a few universes over ArtNet as well, allowing 

these outputs to also benefit from the 

automatic fallover protection of the consoles. 

Says Hadi Suroso (Lighting designer and main 

operator), “The show was a great challenge 

for us as we had only just started learning the 

consoles. We were lucky to have Paul Collison 

there to teach us and the show turned out very 

well. I have to thank a lot of people involved 

with the SEA Games, particularly show director 

Mr. Indra Yudhistira, Paul Collison as our mentor, 

Bernard Chew, both the Kompas TV and the 

Mata Elang crews ... and most of all, my partners 

working on the consoles – Juni Purwanto 

and Dedy”. 

13

I show case I 

“The Final Qountdown” 

grandMA2 raved into 2012 

“The Final Qountdown” ended 2011 for the 

Trance and Techno scene in the Netherlands. 

Taking place in Amsterdam’s Heineken Music 

Hall the event was organised by Q-Dance. 

Lighting designer Tamil van Draanen was keen 

on giving this event, the last version of a series 

of Qountdowns, a special mood. Using a 

grandMA2 full-size and a grandMA2 light 

as backup gave him the assurance needed to 

accomplish his mission. 

the creativity of a designer or operator. The 

grandMA2 did its job very well.” 

“The basic idea was to create the look and feel 

of a casino entrance. Many video screens were 

used to mimick a classy Las Vegas like effect”, 

continued Draanen. “We worked right up to 

doors on the programming, and about two 

minutes before the show started, the desk did 

not contain any attribute bumps or dedicated 

executor buttons. Two minutes later, 20 colour 

executors, 20 gobo executors and 25 colour 

and gobo bumps were programmed into the 

desk with the clever usage of Macros.” 

Vantagepoint supervised the project with 

project manager Marcel Binnenmarsch. 

Rent-All provided the lighting and sound 

equipment. Rolight Theatertechniek BV is the 

MA Lighting distributor in the Netherlands. 

Programmer and operator Martijn van 

Summeren stated, “We chose the grandMA2 

consoles for two main reasons. First because 

of the extended Timecode function. The show 

contained seven timecoded shows, one of 

which was nearly 15 minutes long. Second 

because of its rich and varied programming 

features.” 

“Macros helped me to create the show quickly, 

and the Effects Engine gave me the creative 

freedom that I needed to create a dynamic 

show. The console is the heart of any show, 

and it should never be a limiting factor for 

14

I show case I 

Gavin DeGraw and David Cook 

grandMA2 light on US Tour 

Singer-songwriters Gavin DeGraw and David 

Cook, the latter an “American Idol” winner, are 

co-headlining a US Tour and a grandMA2 light 

is going along for the ride. DeGraw and Cook 

plan to visit 22 cities on a continental swing. 

DeGraw is performing songs from his fourth 

album, “Sweeter,” and Cook appears in support 

of his most recent album, “This Loud Morning.” 

Lighting designer/director Scott Warner is responsible 

for maximising a limited lighting rig 

so all the bands appearing with DeGraw and 

Cook have a unique look. He also serves as the 

programmer and operator for the tour bands. 

Warner is also a first-time grandMA2 user. 

He’s using the console to control not only 

Clay Paky Sharpys but also an array of Robe 

REDWash, Martin 700, Atomic Strobes and 

Lowel Omni lights. 

“I saw the grandMA2 light at LDI and loved 

the look – it’s a great-looking console and 

people come up to me to say how cool it is. 

It’s also very fast; I don’t have to wait for 

anything. I like the touch control and bump 

buttons. It feels good running the show, more 

fun – like sitting at a Mac computer.” He also 

likes having access to more DMX universes on 

the grandMA2 light. 

Instead of using conventional vertical trusses, 

Warner opted to create a three-level wall of 

truss at the back of the stage. “With three 

levels it looks like I have three layers of 

light,” he explains. “It gives me a nice wall 

of lights. On the top level I have nine Sharpy, 

and I frame the bands with them.” 

“The Clay Paky Sharpy is a fantastic light, and 

I love that I can instantly move them around 

so if something is sounding cool on stage, I 

can go to it,” he continues. “I’ve never used 

Clay Paky lights before, so the Sharpys are a 

great introduction. The bands love them too – 

during sound checks everyone comments on 

them. They call them ‘lasers’!” 

A.C.T Lighting is the North American distributor 

of MA Lighting. 

15

I show case I 

Dramatic lighting 

Maná tours with grandMA2 

Maná is a pop rock band from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, whose 

career has spanned more than three decades. They have earned – 

amongst others – three Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards 

and five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America. Accompanying their 

current “Drama e Luz” world tour that started this year is a grandMA2 

system, comprising 1 x grandMA2 full-size console, 1 x grandMA2 light 

and 2 x MA NPU (Network Processing Unit). 

Lighting designer Luis Pastor says of the grandMA2: “After working for 

six years with the grandMA ‘series 1’, I can say for sure that grandMA2 

has an improved graphical user interface. The flexibility of the user configurable 

views and layouts, as well as the bitmap effects and all the 

improvements in programming and operation are really great. After six 

months of hard touring I can say it is a very safe and reliable system – 

we’ve never encountered a problem with the consoles or the MA NPU.” 

The grandMA2 was used to control a lighting rig including 42 x Philips 

Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots, 16 x VL3500 Washes, 10 x VL3500 FX and 10 x 

Vari*Lite VLX plus two media servers. 

Frankie Janssens worked as lighting assistant and Paulo Lebrao as lighting 

programmer. The video content was designed by Luis Pastor and 

Ricardo Olguin, and edited by Ricardo Olguin and Javier Ugarte, with 

equipment supplied by PROCOLOR, Mexico. 

“This level of adaptability and stability offered by grandMA2 consoles 

is perfect for the productions in which I am involved”, continues Pastor. 

“It is excellent when you can sit next to the programmer and ask for 

complicated sequences, macros or effects without making everything 

too complex. Much time can be saved with this comfortable user interface, 

and in conjunction with MA’s networking capabilities, it gives me 

all the performance I need.” 

16

I show case I 

Generation change 

ORF switches to grandMA2 

In a major technical upgrade, the ORF center in 

Vienna has changed all its grandMA “series 1” 

consoles to grandMA2 consoles. The MA NSP 

(Network Signal Processors) were also replaced 

by MA NPU (Network Processing Units), and 

furthermore, the ORF has invested in new 

grandMA2 fader wings. 

Altogether the Austrian national public service 

broadcaster now owns 4 x grandMA2 full-size 

consoles, 17 x grandMA2 light consoles, 15 x 

MA NPU, 9 x grandMA2 fader wings as well 

as 6 x versions of the grandMA onPC software 

solution. 

Engineer and project manager for the upgrade 

Manfred Wagner explains why the grandMA2 

was chosen: “We had plenty of good experiences 

with the grandMA ‘series 1’, so for this 

reason the grandMA2 was a pretty logical 

choice. The grandMA2 is not only extremely 

reliable but also offers powerful backup solutions 

and is a perfect option for TV projects, 

because we can’t afford failures! Additionally, 

the consoles and MA NPU give the performance 

we need for the sophisticated studio 

lighting set up as well as the flexibility to 

control a variety of lightsources – conventionals, 

moving lights, LEDs and video.” 

“Switching to the grandMA2 light means 

we have the same type of consoles in the 

studios as well as at the director’s stand”, 

says Wagner. “Until the upgrade, we had 

a grandMA light for the studios and a 

grandMA full-size at the director’s stand. 

The generation change was completely 

smooth and enhanced by the fact, that 

we had already been working with the 

grandMA2 in our OB vans, so our lighting 

team was trained on the new consoles. 

Engineer Karl Nöbauer is the studio’s chief 

operating officer for productions and 

Engineer Reinhard Traxler is head of lighting 

production. 

The MA equipment was delivered by 

Lightpower GmbH and the installation 

undertaken by Gelantec, Gesellschaft für 

Elektronik und Anlagentechnik mbH. 

17

I show case I 

Flexibility guaranteed 

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts votes for grandMA2 

A pair of grandMA2 lighting consoles was 

recently installed by Miami Stagecraft at the 

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts – 

one for the John S. and one for the James L. 

Knight Concert Hall. Miami Stagecraft also 

upgraded the hall’s entire network to 1Gbit to 

promote fast, high-speed response time. 

“The space is designed to host everything from 

symphony orchestras to Willie Nelson, Cindy 

Lauper and BB King,” says Tony Tur, head electrician 

at the Knight Concert Hall. “We were 

running another console, and a lot of people 

were asking for the grandMA2. I attended a 

grandMA2 training course and really liked 

the console’s features and versatility. It was 

the kind of technology we needed, capable of 

accommodating a rock show, a symphony or 

a musical comedy, and meeting the needs of 

their designers.” 

Steve Welsh, vice president of Miami Stagecraft, 

echoes Tur’s observations that many touring 

groups appearing at the Knight Concert 

Hall were accustomed to using grandMA2. In 

addition, “because of the way the hall is 

configured there are very few conventional 

lights,” Welsh points out. “The space is highlydependent 

on moving lights mounted to the 

ceiling and that also helped tip the scales in 

grandMA2’s favour.” 

Welsh notes that in order to give the grandMA2 

fast, high-speed response time, the hall’s entire 

network required an upgrade. “grandMA2 runs 

flawlessly on a gigabit network,” he says, “so we 

upgraded the whole system to be 1Gbit capable. 

The movable ceilings feed data down to fibreoptic 

cables even when they’re moving – we 

had to upgrade all that to 1Gbit with industrialgrade 

components.” 

Will Murphy, A.C.T Lighting technical support, 

says that the hall originally had “a big fiber 

network and all these little gangbox two-universe 

nodes around the space. When Tony (Tur) 

fell in love with the grandMA2 they needed to 

decide what to do with the existing network. 

So we started to talk about what would make 

their life easier.” 

He explained to Tur that “MA-Net2 is the only 

protocol in the industry with frame-synchronous 

DMX. If you have a properly-designed 

gigabit network, no matter how close or far 

apart ports are, everything is going to be frame 

synchronous: the frame comes out of every 

port at the same time regardless of length. No 

protocol but MA-Net2 can do that and deliver 

two-way communication.” 

Tur specified a grandMA2 console with an 

MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) and a 

second unit with 18 MA 2Port Nodes. “Tony 

chose to go all-MA to get 100 percent support,” 

Murphy says. 

Tur reports that the grandMA2s and network 

are “working great. We just ran BB King and 

a couple of symphonies, and it’s been very 

smooth. The grandMA2 gives us the versatility 

to do everything. That’s just what people were 

requesting.” 

A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor of 

MA Ligthing in North America. 

18

I show case I 

A grand final 

grandMA2 was a hit at Swedish “Idol” 

© Daniel Ekstam 

“Idol” is a Swedish reality-TV talent competition airing on TV4. It 

debuted in August 2004, and became one of the most popular shows 

on Swedish television. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the 

Pop Idol phenomena created by British entertainment executive and 

impresario, Simon Fuller, first shown in the United Kingdom in 2001. 

This year’s Swedish edition was the final one. There won’t be a new 

season next year, so to make it as spectacular as possible, lighting 

designer Per Ax voted for a grandMA2 control system. 

This comprised 1 x grandMA2 full-size and 1 x grandMA2 light consoles, 

4 x MA NPU (Network Processing Units) and three touchscreen computers, 

with grandMA2 onPC software running as backup. It all performed 

faultlessly while controlling 450 LED fixtures and moving lights from 

Philips Vari*Lite, Color Kinetics, Clay Paky and Martin Professional as 

well as a whole bunch of conventionals. 

key lights. The consoles were running in the same session but separate 

worlds, each with its own grandMA2 onPC backup station consisting of 

a Mac Mini with a touchscreen.” 

Per Ax explained his design: “The basic idea of the lighting design was 

to position lights around the stage and set to make the different venues 

look even more luxurious and big. I wanted also to have a design that 

was adaptable for the many different songs performed and the moods 

they encapsulated. Because this is a major TV show in Sweden, with 

cameras shooting in all directions it was also important that lights 

were visible 360 degrees around the arenas.” 

Ulf Jansson worked as moving light operator, Morgan Brown operated 

the media servers. All lighting, sound and transport was provided by 

Music&Lights from Västerås. 

Lighting designer’s assistant and head electrician Tobias Winerdal commented: 

“I have worked on Swedish Idol for seven years. We started 

out with another console and used it for a few years. We moved on to 

the grandMA full-size ‘series 1’ in 2007 and there was no turning back. 

This year we used a grandMA2 system for the first time and it was a 

perfect choice!” 

“Because we were working for a live TV show with millions of viewers 

there was really no room for glitches”, continued Winerdal. “The setup 

was designed with that in mind, and all the FOH electronics and dimmer 

signal distribution were on UPS-regulated power. At FOH we used a 

grandMA2 full-size for the moving lights and a grandMA2 light for the 

© Daniel Ekstam 

19

I internal matter I 

The story so far 

10 years of grandMAgazines 

The year 2002 was chosen as the international year of Gaudi. 

In honour of his famous son, who also celebrates his 150th 

anniversary, Barcelona organizes a program with various 

activities to pay tribute to the fascintating universe of Gaudi, 

who was known as one of the most important artists of the 20th 

century. 

Exhibitions, literary discussions, as a student in Barcelona and 

publications, festivals, theatre- follow him through his dazzling 

and dancing spectacles offer a career in which he crossed all 

the construction boundaries of 

Antonio Gaudi as architect, his time: the early frustrated 

the theatre lighting design and 

designer, philosopher, naturalist projects, his relationship with 

grandMA provided the control. in his unique and individual way. 

and even as a man responsible Count Güell, the commission of 

Altogether Joe Gruber, the 

for urban planning. 

console operator, programmed the theatre or touring sector. 

of glory and his gradual mystical 

over 1800 cues, 80 sequences, 

retreat… As a background, 

and 120 macros. The grandMA 

This spectacular musical with 27 Barcelona, the Rose of Fire, 

– the console was delivered by 

actors on stage and an impressive 

set is taking you into the fascinating historic time. 

moving lights, 132 channels for 

immersed in a convulsed and 

Amptown Hamburg – runs 46 

secret universe of geometry, the The première of the new 

conventional lighting and 54 

mystery of spaces and volumes production with the lighting 

non-dim circuits. 

An additional console from the 

created – and imagined – by the designer Ariel del Mastro will 

grandMA range, the grandMA 

architect. But you will also learn take place on the 25th of september 

in the Barcelona Teatre 

history with Whole Hog II. pool deck. The Light will control 

for Hilton Jones, who has a long light, is ready for anything at the 

London, Rome, New York and Los Angeles are the next stops for of his youthful dreams and his 

Robert Wilson´ s spectacular production of Woyzeck. Robert first and only love; you will Musical. The entire show is 

Amazed by the versatility of the 48 conventional channels, eight 

Wilson is one of America´ s most impressive theatre celebrities. accompany him during his years controlled by a grandMA 

console, he changed there after moving lights, and eight 

Woyzeck´ s debut premiere and staging was held at the Betty 

the tender requirements for the scanners, as well as several 

Nansen Teatret in Copenhagen and Wilson has now taken 

AIDAvita and specified the outdoor colour changers. The 

Buchner´ s drama, which deals with the loss of human values, on 

pool deck offers three stages or 

a world tour. 

only multi-functional-controller open surfaces which can be used 

console in the market that can according to the various daily 

Robert Wilson was also able to that light plays are the pivotal 

handle the tasks required for the needs. 

win over Tom Waits who wrote reasons why the entire lighting 

AIDIvita, said Jones.” “It is easy Although very little equipment 

the music and lyrics for this equipment from Copenhagen is 

and intuitive to operate the was required, the grandMA light 

production. The contextual relationship 

of this work is reflected This challenging task cannot be 

cruise ship vacation-goers the best of two vacation worlds. For to all channels and it takes you to provide back up and its 

used on the world tour. 

Since summer 2002 the AIDAVita offers those event oriented console, you have direct access was chosen due to its capability 

in the synthesis of both talents: 

now the AIDA fleet concept combines an active club vacation quickly there where you want it compatibility to serve as a main 

In Wilson´ s reduced, artificial from different sources in different 

locations. Thus one of the 

speaking of amenities the easy operating capability was also the that play a decisive role when serve as replacement should a 

with all the amenities of a traditional four star cruise ship. And to.” Not only are these reasons console. The grandMA light can 

most interesting challenges for 

main reason why two grandMA´ s are among the top items in programming, but also when 

per formance bears abstract the grandMA. 

the cruise ships´ s equipment specification list. 

different operators and lighting console. The light can easily read 

expressiveness and pictorial lan- 

staff must operate the console and control the corresponding 

Tour dates 

No compromises: This applies 

on a daily basis; they are able shows. 

lighting application. 

16.09.- 19.09. Belgrade 

for the ship´ s on board theatre entertainment running alternatively 

60 minutes each. accustomed to the console. The seas, for a trouble free operation 

to get easily acquainted and 

The discriminate use of lighting 18./19.10. Sarajevo 

with a seating capacity of 650. 

equipment supports and adds 27.09.- 05.10. London 

Every evening the theatre offers Hilton Jones was responsible for grandMA user philosophy allows is warranted in this particular 

11.10.- 13.10. Rome 

play. The complexity of the stage 30.10.- 16.11. New York 

production and the central role 03.12.- 15.12. Los Angeles 

Maná´s new world tour will last two years. It is for sure that the 

Mexican topband will play in sold out stadiums and halls in its 

Tchaikovsky overture of Star 

Wars or the Strauss theme in 

2001, A Space Odyssee. 

Since the 80s the pioneers of the In 1998 Carlos Santana asked 

Latin pop rock with Fher Olvera them to play three songs for his 

(vocals), Alex González (drums), comeback album “Supernatural” 

Sergio Vall´n (guitar) and Juan 

The opening ceremony of the 

Calleros (bass) look back at an on three continents together 

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The lighting design, as well as 

impressive career: they have sold with him. The most famous song 

in the SuperDome of Sydney 

16,5 million copies of their last “Corazón Espinade”, written and 

seven albums and had more than produced by Maná, was in the 

The program as well as the typical for such a classic concert, 

was impressive. The organi- 

Top 10 for some weeks and also 

production itself showed an 

1000 concerts in 22 countries. awarded with 2 grammys. From 

unusual presentation to the zer ”Creation Enter tainment” 

Moreover they were given 60 

audience´s eyes and ears: a knew they would break with the 

gold, 95 platin, 4 grammys and 7 -American band changed into 

varied mixture of popular and misconception which says that 

billboard awards as well as a lot international character. 

classical music has to be produced 

in a tedious way at the same 

of other prizes. The title song for By taking care for the technical 

whole evening which was also 

Francis Ford Coppolas “My equipment of their concerts in a 

underlined by an sumptuous time. So the Accolade Events- 

Family” and also the changeover meticulous way, the band is 

lighting scenario. 

Production made use of this 

in 1998 to the famous record meant to be pioneer for the new 

opportunity and installed many 

label CAA, which has also signed tech nical innovation on the 

The musical program included lighting systems, laser and PIGI Two grandMA´s provided by Simpson took care of the 

contracts with Eric Clapton, Latin-American market. The new 

both the triumph march from projections. The lighting designer 

Brad Gander succeeded in were used in a different way. This was an excellent demon- 

Chameleon Touring Systems, movinglights with his grandMA.„ 

Depeche Mode or Alanis tour is controlled by two 

Aida, music of Carmen, La 

Morisette, characterize further grandMA´s , which have been 

Boheme and Turandot and also 

While Brad Gander controlled stration to show two totally 

milestones of Maná´s still growing 

success. 

renamed to: 

classic themes that became and picture- pro jections in the the dimmer channels with one different ways of using the same 

film soundtracks such as the show. 

console, Michael ”Simmo” console. 

Gaudi is back 

number of possibilities to discover 

Ariel del Mastro designing Gaudi 

In the course of these festivities 

the musical Gaudi is also revived. 

the Sagrada Família, his moments 

each operator to use the console 

No matter whether you come from 

To be continue 

Next round for the 

Woyzeck World Tour 

– LDI 2002 edition – 

pic torial world and Waits romantic 

Weillsch´ Music. Wilson´s 

realized with different equipment 

guage with the use of opulent 

considerably to the effects of the 

grandMA light 

at the pool deck 

It was the first grandMA encounter 

Club ship AIDAvita at high seas with two grandMA´s on board 

grandMA. “The grandMA is the 

Club ship AIDAvita at high seas 

with two grandMA´s on board 

grandMANÁ 

Latin American band Maná 

on world tour 

beginning October 2002 

An der Talle 26-28 

33102 Paderborn · Germany 

Tel: +49 (0) 5251 68 88 65-10 

Fax: +49 (0) 5251 68 88 65-88 

E-mail: sales@malighting.de 

http://www.malighting.de 

10 million people in their up to now 

grandMA: 750 

consoles sold!!! 

grandMA: it is standard, 

it is state-of-the-art. 

twelve shows and professional 

grandMA’s 

conquest of 

Australia 

and also 30 very successful concerts 

With over 750 consoles sold 

then on their character as a Latin 

worldwide, grandMA stands 

ultimate performance. And 

for proven reliability and 

with our upcoming net- 

we are yet another step 

working software releases 

We proudly present the 10 th anniversary edition of our grandMAgazine. 

MA Lighting International 


Autumn 2007 

In the first edition, published for PLASA/LDI 2002, MA Lighting started 

this journey that has taken us through many fantastic projects, numerous 

product releases and a host of inspiring interviews with some of 

the most famous people in our industry. 

Colours of Woyzeck 

ahead! 

MA Lighting North America* 

problem develop with the theatre 

Two grandMA’s 

turned out to be a special event. 

The new keyfeatures 

in 

Version 4 are: 

This is a definite plus when at high 

gmag_spring09_GC:Lay_MA_2007_GB.qxd 27.03.2009 14:14 Uhr Seite 1 

the lavish projections with showlighting 

components which are 

classic themes characterized the 

“grandMANÁ”. 

MA Lighting UK 


MA Lighting International 

Full Multi-User 

environment 

Master-Master 

operating mode 

Virtualy unlimited 

channel count 

Multiple wireless 

remotes using the 

Spring 2009 

Linking Worlds 

integrating moving lights, laser- 

MA Lighting Middle East India 

iPAQ pocket-PC 

grandMA with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra 

editor are also being 

updated, integrated into 

the Multi-User-System 

and free for download. 

Find out more: 

Our grandMA 3D visualisation 

software and off-line 

MA Lighting Asia Pacific 

www.malighting.de 

...with Total Control Solutions by MA Lighting. 

MA Lighting Latin America 

*Managed by A.C.T Lighting Inc. 

Going global: Overview of all MA Lighting´s support and service centres 

The 1st of July 2007 marked a new era in the getting even closer to the market", comments genres, moving lights, fixtures, LEDs as well as 

history of MA Lighting. With the opening of Michael Althaus, Managing Director of MA media servers. This is what really makes "Total 

its latest office – MA Lighting Asia Pacific – Lighting International. "We are following consequently 

our professional user-centric approach sional markets as well as integrating all lighting 

Control": a powerful solution linking all profes- 

MA brought a new level of focus and accessibility 

to the market. Next to their specialised and as a partner we speak the language of the genres – plus adding the benefits of most 

distribution network, MA is now offering users and listen attentive to their needs", comprehensive network tools as well as a clever 

additional support and service via five own Michael adds. 

integration of dimmers, media servers and 

branches: 

pre-programming tools like the real-time 3D 

With this approach, MA is not focussing just on visualizer grandMA 3D. 

MA Lighting UK, MA Lighting Latin America, one segment of the market. MA is addressing 

MA Lighting Middle East India, MA Lighting the complete market from Concert Touring, Live MA Lighting is also offering its customers 

Asia Pacific as well as MA Lighting North Events, Theatre and Musical, TV and Studio as worldwide a highly sophisticated training program. 

Please see the last page for more details. 

America with two US offices in Los Angeles and well as Architainment. All this is based around 

New Jersey (MA Lighting North America is the core of MA Lighting's integrated system 

wholly owned and managed by A.C.T Lighting, solution, the grandMA. grandMA allows in 

Inc.). "The idea of our global network is to addition most flexible control of all lighting 

Bound by tradition 

Linking Worlds with Total Control Solutions 

The Burgtheater in Vienna is one of the most 

prominent stages in Europe and after the 

New support and service centres opened in London, New York, Dubai and Singapore 

Comédie-Française, the second oldest European 


grandMA2 celebrates its Austrian premiere in Vienna’s famous “Burgtheater” 

language theatre. During its eventful history 

it has been known as the “K.K. Theater nächst 

der Burg” (imperial and royal theatre next to 

the castle), and then until 1918, the “K.K. 

Hof-Burgtheater” (imperial and royal courttheatre). 

Since then, it has been known as 

“Burgtheater” (castle theatre) - simply “Burg” 

to the Viennese. Ever since its creation in 

1741 the “Burg“ has experienced countless 

high profile premieres. With the introduction 

of the grandMA2 in Austria, both the “Burg” 

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 

set up 

have direct Show of superlatives designed in pre-programming studio 

K market and 

ld have predicted 

invited the whole team to the preprogramming 

in Cologne: Manuel 

rket response. 

year, multimedia grand - 

da Costa (Moving Lights), Marcus 

– autumn 2006 – 

Bossdorf (LEDs) and Philipp Herbst 

MA control sys - 

(Video). Marcus Krömer and René 

tems have been 

Berhorst (MA Lighting) where 

used ex tensively 

there to support all three programmers. 

For the pre-program- 

through out the UK 

and Eu rope, and 

ming they used another eight 

grandMA 3D systems for the realtime 

visualization in addition to 

grandMA helps Madonna with her confessions Change in leadership 

the de mand shows 

no sign of slowing 

the further consoles and NSPs. World tour launched with extensive moving lights and effects 

with MA Lighting 

down. 

Richard Lambert 

“For the realisation of our job 

International 

With links and 

roots to people in the UK there’re also 

the MA system offered us possibilities 

that we loved”, says Olma. 

Michael Althaus new Managing 

overseas events such as the Olympics, 

“Since the beginning of the preprogramming 

in Cologne every- 

Director of MA Lighting 

Commonwealth Games, Oman Military 

Tattoo, World Cup Draw, Eurovision 


Beginning 1st July 2006 Michael 

Song Contest and the new Madonna 

Athen´s high-tech amphitheatre 

Althaus (aged 31) became the new 

world tour, all controlled by grandMA. 

Stability and flexibility 

With more than 1,000 people from Technically the Eurovision were put in motorized movable 

Managing Director of MA Lighting 

Richard Lambert, Technical Director for 37 countries as well as 2,000 reporting 

journalists the Euro vision Song event organised by the German amphitheatre. In total 44 DMX lines 

position previously held by Ralph-Jörg 

Song Contest was an outstanding stairs that had the shape of an were important 

International. He has taken over the 

MA Lighting UK, says: “The demand for 

grandMA consoles has been staggering. Contest was one of the biggest company Procon. The lighting were used that were divided into thing was to our full satisfaction.“ 

Wezorke (aged 49) who, over the last 

It’s very exciting to be part of this successful 

product line – having joined MA 

music events worldwide. It was held system used around 500 moving four lighting worlds: moving lights, In Athens Oliver Heidings - 

20 years, has built up the successful 

in the O.A.K.A. hall in Athens which lights as well as Barco video- and LED, white light and video/media felder (pro grammer for the white 

sales of MA products. 

was fully booked out with 14,000 Schnick schnack LED systems. The server. The complete lighting control 

was done via MA Lighting’s designer assistant) joined the 

light) and Pia Virolainen (lighting 

only a year ago it’s been just the best 

spectators. 

video as well as the LED systems 

year!!!” 

grandMA system – four grandMA team as well. As the build up of 

MA as leading brand requires 

full-size and one grandMA light the stage in the hall was considerably 

delayed the complete LED 

an independent management 

including backup and 22 NSPs (network 

signal processors). More over programming had to be made via 

“Michael started working at 

Of Musicals and 

Rockstars: 

an optic-fibre network with four grandMA 3D. As grandMA 3D is 

Light power some 11 years ago and has 

HP switches was installed to guarantee 

the highest possible stabili- 

the production team was very 

the last three years. He has lots of 

very close to reality and flexible 

been part of the senior management 

Latest grandMA references 

and projects in progress 

ty of the lighting control system impressed and full of praise for 

experiences in the lighting business 

especially with the network. the system. This was a very important 

benefit for a big production 

Wezorke explains. We succeeded in 

and an MBA in business studies,” 

Avenue Q • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •London 

Such a complex installation 

Wicked • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •London 

© Steve Jennings 

of control and network could only of this kind. 

getting a top international position 

Love • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Las Vegas 

be realized by a continuous, twoyear-lasting 

cooperation between the direct access possibilities were With a reputation for astonis- 

changes. Our lighting system has DMX universes via 9 NSPs. It’s way to make it accurate and further develop MA as a leading 

The stability, flexibility and 

Material girl in a grandMA world with MA. Our next objective is to 

Danish Radio Byen • • • • • • •Copenhagen 

Rock in Rio • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Lisbon 

the mo² Design GmbH – the company 

of lighting designer Manfred Contest, as within the short ligh- 

has launched her Confessions date so many elements. We use this big where we have eight of SMPTE timecode, it would be management momentum of its own. 

important for the Eurovision Song hing stage spectacles, Madonna to be very versatile to accommo- 

the only way to go for a show consistent every night is to run it brand. This requires an independent 

City Harvest Church • • • • • • • •Singapore 


Mariah Carey • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour 

“Ollie” Olma – and MA Lighting. ting time moods for 37 individual Tour 2006. Lighting designer cyberhoist moving motors for all separate cue lists running simultaneously 

and multiple layers for The SMPTE track is sent by the 

• • • • • • • • • • • •Tour Monsters from Finland: Lordi rocked to victory 

change,” Wezorke will remain Mana - 

impossible to do this manually. That is why my dual role will now 

Red Hot Chili Peppers Six weeks before the show Olma songs and artists had to be created. Roy Bennett and lighting programmer 

Troy Eckerman are us to change looks going from a some songs. grandMA’s doing sound department.” 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour 

ging Director of the main company 

the lighting pods; that enables 

Tool 

The Strokes 

using an extensive array of very heavy rock to a disco dance great! 

The lighting pods feature 99 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour 

Light power, at the same time also 

Middle East’s largest ever car launch 

moving lights and effects, controlled 

by two grandMA fullsi- 

lighting with no less than 30 plex with so many cues, the best hes, five VL 500 arcs, 31 Mac 2K both companies. Lightpower is also 

feel. grandMA controls all of the Since the show is so com- 

VL 3000s, eight VL 2500 was- 

remaining majority shareholder of 

Elton John • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour 

Take That • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour 

A big show for a big car with a big console 

ze consoles and nine NSPs to 

washes, 13 Syncro - taking pride in its internal staff development. 

Guns n` Roses • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour 

spotlight her dynamic performances. 

Atomic Strobes The manufacturing company, MA 

light B52s and 82 

Mark Knopfler • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour Production Technology LLC better range SUV from Audi: the Q7. The HPE 575W, 46 Clay Paky Alpha Colours, which were used to light 

Madonna • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour known in Dubai as Protec recently event was attended by over a Wash 575W, 28 Clay Paky Stage up the 100 meter wide satin back 

with color scrolls. Lighting Technology, is very pleased to 

Jay-Z • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Tour provided full lighting production thousand invited guests, including Colour 1200W, 22 Clay Paky Stage drapes. 

Confessions toured the US, 

An additional see this development as a sign of substantial 

company expansion. 

services to their Dubai based several local VIPs. 

Zoom 1200W, 20 3K Strobes, 96 The Protec team was led by Canada, Europe and Japan this 

grandMA console is 

To find out more: www.malighting.com client, Al Nabooda Automobiles, The set consisted of, among Par Cans and 90 2500W City Stephen Lakin. 

summer and autumn. It follows 

on hand for back 

for the Middle East’s largest ever others, eight hydraulic scissor lifts, 

Madonna’s current CD, “Confes- 

up. 

car launch. The event took place in four of which lifted two cars 

sions on a Dance Floor,” which 

Corey Fitz gerald 

the iconic Sheikh Rashid Hall of through the stage, with the other 

served as the 

Dubai’s International Convention four featuring UK based pyrotechnic 

performers from Phoenix 

“grandMA´s doing great” 

programmer to 

second grandMA 

Centre, within the United Arab 

Emirates. One grandMA full-size, Productions. Eight cars were flown 

Eckerman. 

one grandMA ultra-light and two in from the roof of the venue, as 

debuted at #1 in 29 countries. 

Comprehensive 

MA Lighting International NSPs controlled the vast variety of part of the reveal, from state of 

“Every Madonna tour is big, 

project support was 

An der Talle 26-28 lights during the show. 

the art motor control systems. 

and this tour is probably the biggest 

one she has done,” says 

Lighting, MA’s 

provided by A.C.T 


Lighting Designer Paul Smith, 

Tel: +49 (0) 5251 68 88 65-10 

Al Nabooda, the leading Audi a free lancer based in Dubai, specified 

his preferred lighting in stru - 

of equipment, lots of video, set 

tor for the US and 

Eckerman. “There are 26 trucks 

exclusive distribu- 

Fax: +49 (0) 5251 68 88 65-88 

distributor in the Middle East, 

E-mail: sales@malighting.de 

© Steve Jennings 

launched the latest top of the ments: 30 Clay Paky Alpha Spot 

pieces, things that fly, costume 

Canada. 

http://www.malighting.de 

grandMA delivered the best lighting for the stars on four wheels 

Confessions surrounded by 30 DMX universes Ralph-Jörg Wezorke (l.) and Michael Althaus (r.) 

© MA Lighting International 

and MA Lighting continue this great tradition. 

More than 100 invited theatre technicians from 

Austrian theatres and opera houses experienced 

a live presentation of the grandMA2 and were 

hugely impressed by the ambitious theatre 

dedication of the new series and its powerful 

Bring on the light 

grandMA travels with “The Police” 

around the world ... p. 2 

Hands-on: The new grandMA2 series was 

presented live on stage 

Flexible and powerful 

network technology 

MA Lighting introduces the 2Port Node 

and 2Port Node onPC ... p. 4 

MA Video Processing Unit (VPU)... p.2 

Further information: www.malighting.com, 

Starting point Addition to the family 

MA Lighting’s grandMA2 is 

ready for shipment... p. 2 

Back again 

iTunes Festival relies on grandMA2 

for the third time..p3 

The time-honoured Burgtheater 

features. During the following hands-on sessions, 

everyone had the chance to take a closer look at 

the grandMA2 system, containing of full-size, 

light as well as ultra-light plus wings, a replay 

unit and MA’s unique and integrated software 

tools grandMA2 remote and onPC as well as 

grandMA 3D and grandMA video .„It was a great 

honour for us to be at the famous Burgtheater 

© Georg Soulek 

for our grandMA2 presentation for the Austrian 

theatre market,” comments Franz Anner, CEO of 

F & A Showtechnik. “At the same time this 

event underlines the intensive effort of the 

cooperation between Lightpower and 

F & A Showtechnik to supply the theatre market 

with top-class products.” 

A galaxy of lights 

Backstage 

Teatro Argentino opts 

for grandMA2...p8–9 

“We were proud to have the chance launching 

grandMA2 in this impressive ambience,” 

says Michael Althaus, Managing Director of 

MA Lighting International. “The Burg underlined 

our theatre focus with grandMA2 and its close 

link to our dimMA system, which became very 

popular especially in Austria and Germany. We 

were also very proud of announcing the delivery 

start of the grandMA2 series.” 

The event was organised and presented by 

F & A Showtechnik and its German cooperation 

partner Lightpower. 

grandMA2 masters 42,000 parameters 

at Eurovision Song Contest 2011 

Mobile 

MA Lighting introduces the 

MA onPC command wing...p3-5 

Autumn 11 I English 

grandMAgazine Spring 12 I English 


grandMA2 joins „autoSYMPHONIC“ 

Memorable 

Southeast Asian Games play 

with grandMA2...p12-13 

Back-up 

Safer and more powerful networking 

with the MA-Net2...p18–19 

the most impressive pictures, and of course to all our readers throughout 

the years. 

If there is something you’ve been missing in grandMAgazine, please 

send us your ideas on possible future inclusions. We’ll draw three 

winners out of all e-mails we receive – and send you a prize. 

Merry 

grandMAgazine celebrates 

its 10 th anniversary...p20 



During the past years we have constantly worked on improving 

the magazine to make it as informative and entertaining for you as 

possible. The picture gallery above gives an impression of how 

grandMAgazine has changed over the years. If you would like to read 

all the back issues and join us on a historic journey, you should visit: 

http://www.malighting.com/grandmagazine.html 

You’ll find digital editions of all issues there. 

Right now, we would like to say a big “THANK YOU” to all of you out 

there who have participated in grandMAagazine and supplied us with 

Please send your mail to marketing@malighting.com subject: 

grandMAgazine. 

By the way – we are always interested in what you are doing out there – 

either if these are pictures of you and your projects or something else 

you would like to share with the rest of our big MA family. Please visit 

our Facebook channel and share it with us: 

http://www.facebook.com/MALightingInt 

We are looking forward to it. 

20

I internal matter I 

A valuable time 

MA distributor summit in Paderborn 

Over 50 participants from all over the world joined the MA Training 

Week in Paderborn and took the time to discover the powerful features 

that the MA System has to offer. In spite of the freezing cold temperatures 

outside, all attendees quickly warmed up to the training contents. 

The topics covered included the grandMA2 software updates, the brand 

new MA onPC command wing and various service trainings. 

Additional location in Germany 

MA University training programme at Lightpower, Paderborn 

From the beginning of September 2011, MA Lighting, its German 

distributor Lightpower and the media academy once again offer all 

current and upcoming grandMA2 users in Germany access to the 

renowned MA University training program in Paderborn. This is in 

addition to the training program that is offered in cooperation with 

the media academy in Berlin, so customers now have an additional 

choice of location to visit for their training. 

All training dates are published on the Lightpower Website 

(www.lightpower.de). More information about the MA University can 

be found there as well, together with full details of the training, including 

an in depth explanation. 

MA online tip 

www.ma-share.net 

Do you already know the MA share-net It was founded to let all 

grandMA users help improve the quality of the fixture libraries in the 

grandMA series of lighting consoles. 

You can use this forum to download fixture libraries that might not 

yet be ready in the latest desk software, or if you don't find what you 

are looking for, you may create a new file yourself and then upload it 

together with your comments/info on the file. 

Stay in touch with MA 

You can find us in the web also on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. 

Have a look at: 

www.youtube.com/user/MALightingInt 

twitter.com/MALighting 

www.facebook.com/MALightingInt 

21

I people I 

Interview 

MA Lighting meets Sha Xiaolan 

Sha Xiaolan is the director of the China Stage Artist Academy 

Lighting Art Committee and the top level stage designer for 

Dong Fang Song & Dance Ensemble. In 2008, Sha Xiaolan was 

the chief lighting director of the XXIX Beijing Olympics’ Opening 

and Closing Ceremonies and the XIII Paralympics Opening and 

Closing Ceremonies. For his involvement he was awarded the 

Beijing Olympics and Paralympics Special Honor Award issued by 

BOCOG in September 2008. In 2010 Sha Xiaolan worked as the 

chief lighting designer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies 

of the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou as well as the Opening 

and Closing Ceremonies of the Shanghai Expo. Sha Xiaolan was 

awarded the Scientific and Technological experts title issued by 

the Publicity Department of the CCP Central Committee in 2009. 

Furthermore he received the ‘Wenhua Prize’, ‘Five Top Project 

Award’, ‘Gold Eagle Prize’, ‘Starlight Prize’ and ‘Lotus Award’. 

There are many projects running on MA Lighting products which 

we cover regularly in grandMAgazine. In addition to the technical 

realisation of these projects, MA likes to take a more personal look 

at the people, their lives, ideas and aspirations. This time we met 

Sha Xiaolan. 

1. How did you first become involved in lighting 

In 1985, I attended Shanghai Theater Academy, and majored in Lighting 

Design. That was the start of my lighting life. 

2. What/who has inspired you along the way 

I’m always watching and studying a lot of world-class dramas, song 

and dance productions, operas and so on. I am deeply influenced 

by these and they inspire me with a further comprehension of stage 

art. 

3. What are the most memorable or enjoyable moments of your career 

The 8th August 2008, the moment when the flame for the 2008 

Beijing Olympic Games was lit. 

Paralympics 2008, Beijing, China 

22

I people I 

© Paul Collison 

Olympic Games 2008, Beijing, China 

4. Which show/event has been the most challenging or 

interesting and why 

Again the XXIX Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony. The games had 

wide international influence and far-reaching significance. 

5. Three best things about your job 

1. Meeting many nice people. 

2. Forming a highly efficient team to co-ordinate the realisation. 

3. Constantly meeting new challenges which makes every project 

more meaningful. 

6. How do you imagine shows might look in 10 years time 

There will be more and more utilisation of multimedia technology and 

virtual reality technology in our future performances. 

7. If you were not working in lighting, what would you be doing 

I have never thought of that and I have no idea. 

“Characters build fine works, fine works reveal characters” 

Sha Xiaolan 

MA Lighting International GmbH 

Managing Director: Michael Althaus 

An der Talle 24-28 


Tel: +49 5251 68 88 65-10 

Fax: +49 5251 68 88 65-88 

E-mail: info@malighting.com 

www.malighting.com 

© MA Lighting International. All technical 

specifications are subject to change without 

notification. We do not assume liability for 

any incorrect information in this magazine. 

Version No. XII.01 

23

Just wing it! 

MA onPC command wing – the sophisticated yet 

affordable extension for grandMA2 onPC 

• Perfect solution for flexible and mobile programming 

• Look and feel as known from grandMA2 consoles 

• 2,048 parameters on-board: 

Expandable by an MA 2Port Node onPC/onPC PRO 

• Light, handy & rock solid: extra small housing 

and just 6kg 

• Plug and play via USB: simply connect to 

your notebook 

• Fully integrated into the grandMA2 system 

Brand new MA onPC command wing – 

simply connect to your notebook 

running grandMA2 onPC via USB 

The brand new MA onPC command wing is the perfect solution 

if you are working as a lighting professional all over the world, 

running a small club or theatre, want to join the huge grandMA2 

family or simply look for a smart backup or preprogramming solution. 

So – get your wing! 

MA Lighting International GmbH 

An der Talle 24-28 · D-33102 Paderborn · Germany 

sales@malighting.com · www.malighting.com

Download - MA Lighting

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