Michael’s imaginative talents were called on by the show’s technical production company Black Coffee, who also supplied all the lighting equipment. Black Coffee’s Brandon Bunyon designed the set, which was dominated by a large cross flown above the downstage area.

It was a challenging show to light! The audience were seated in a flat auditorium, so the stage was lost as an effective projection surface and the position of the cross meant that it was not in everyone’s field of vision or all camera shots!

Michael decided to rely on saturated colour washes and beams onstage as his main tool for creating atmosphere and style coupled with the practical task of illuminating the stage action, and 24 x Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWashes were central to making this happen effectively.

These were used for top, side and back lighting – all rigged in overhead trussing - and provided the ability to wash the large stage in a variety of fabulously rich and funky colours, and to create highly effective beams by zooming the fixtures right in.

As a busy freelance lighting designer working in all sectors of the industry, including opera, theatre and corporate events, Michael frequently uses Robe products in the course of his work.

Before the CGMAs, he had previously used LEDWash 600s to light an 031 Fashion showcase, however, this was primarily a white-light show, so CGMA was the first opportunity to let loose on the colours and other features of these popular fixtures.

He thinks the reds are “Very impressive compared to the CYM mixing of discharge lamp fixtures”, and that the LEDWashes generally “Delivered on every level” particularly when it came to intensity in all the saturated colour ranges.

In addition to these units, 12 Robe ColorSpot 575E ATs were used, rigged to  a series of drop-bars off the rear truss, used to create beam-technology looks.

Two ColorSpot 1200 E ATs and two ColorSpot 2500E ATs were floor mounted, and produced intense collimated patterns and effects, together with eight ColorBeam 700E ATs, which were also on the deck along the back – and that Michael thought were particularly cool!

Describing himself as usually a ‘less is more’ designer, with the ColorBeams 700s at his disposal … he became very much ‘more is more’ …. in terms of wishing he could add more to the rig! Of course, this did not stop him using the eight there in many spectacular ways, and with a little assistance from the Robes, he had more than enough resources at his disposal to create plenty of visual magic for the event . He programmed and operated the show – which also included a large generic and ‘white-light’ rig  for TV using a grandMA light console.

The 2011 Crown Gospel Music Awards was recorded for later broadcast on SABC.