Gauteng, South Africa – Event lighting and set designer Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier has applied the “extra output and great gobo work” of Clay Paky Mythos fixtures to create a dramatic, broadcast-ready design for the Miss South Africa 2016 beauty pageant.
The glamorous event was staged at Carnival City in Gauteng and showcased in a two-hour live broadcast on South Africa’s M-Net and Mzansi Magic channels. Alongside the exciting competition, a line-up of South African acts entertained the live audience and thousands of viewers at home, including MTV Africa Music Award-winning group Mi Casa.
Cutts worked alongside Centurion-based technical supplier and event production house Dream Sets to deliver the sparkling production for the second consecutive year. He positioned 16 Mythos across multiple arches which framed the main stage.
“The Mythos were used on the main arch because of their punchier output compared to the other beams,” explains Cutts. “As well as delivering great beam work it’s a neat and compact fixture which helps it fit into any television environment.”
As each contestant stalked down the main walkway, Cutts employed the sharp Mythos beams to cut across the stage adding to the high energy, edgy fashion-show feel.
“We wanted to have as much negative space as possible to help accentuate the beams,” Cutts continues. “I also used the fantastic in-built gobos of the Mythos directly into the camera to add even more sparkle.”
Cutts design was also based around a large LED screen which worked as a visually-striking back wall, with the Mythos holding their own against its output.
“The Mythos beam work easily cut through and around the LED screen, which was great. The overall concept was a huge success and the Mythos definitely added to that. It’s a great product to work with and I will definitely make use of them on future productions.”
Miss South Africa, which first took place in 1956, is presented by hotel resort and entertainment group Sun International and is widely seen as one of the richest beauty competitions. The prizes, including a luxury skiing holiday and car, are valued at more than 2 million Rand. This year’s winner was Ntandoyenkosi Kunene, who will compete in the 66th edition of Miss World on December 20th.