EFC KICKING IT M-SERIES STYLE
(By Jesse Dullabh (Entertainment Lighting - Technical and Controller support)
EFC, the Extreme Fighting Championship, is the biggest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion in Africa. Over one hundred of the continent’s toughest MMA athletes are exclusively contracted to EFC. These fighters fight out of countries from all over Africa, among others South Africa, D.R.C., Angola, Nigeria and Egypt.
EFC is a growing sports entertainment phenomenon that has captured the imagination of fight fans from around the continent. Events comprise 12 explosive fights, which play out to packed arenas. Events take place every month alternating between Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
A big fight requires a big showcase, and appropriate technical equipment to do justice to its stature. The responsibility has been entrusted to events company Gearhouse who in turn entrusted the technical setup of these events to Gary Sam.
Due to the technical specifications required for the event, the event organiser chose Gearhouse as their technical and events partner. Gary who was originally assigned to programme and operate the event, has since become the resident Head of Lighting Design and Operation at every edition of the event.
Gary has become an industry veteran in the lighting game because his commitment to excellence, perfection and calculation, shows in the work he delivers during every event.
Seventeen years ago when he started at Center Stage Lighting, under the guidance of Charlie Stothard, Gary was bitten by the live entertainment bug. Later, he was mentored in programming by Kurt Du Preez who was one of the first owners of a Martin Maxxyz Full Size. “The command line is the way my brain works, simply and straight forward.” said Gary. He has been fortunate to work on all platforms of the M-series which include the Maxxyz Compact, M1, M2GO and M6. The effects engine is something that he uses primarily in his design. His fluency of generating material in next to no time is something that he prioritizes in his programming techniques. Gary loves the fact that the process of transferring shows the following: file, cloning, dynamic effects engine, and editing tools, which are key factors in the programming process.
Gary has been running the EFC brand since EFC 19. “I have seen the rate at which it is growing and I believe that the brand will grow huge in Africa, as well as Europe, and will start competing with brands like the UFC”. With the expansion of the brand, lighting and AV aspects will have to increase and it will be an opportunity to start incorporating many of the new Martin Mac Quantum range for LED. Gary has always loved the Martin Fixture, and has fallen in love with the new Martin Mac Viper Profile which he regular specs for the event and believes that it will dominate the industry for the next 10 years, replacing the Veteran Mac 2000 range to become an industry standard in live entertainment.
The lighting of events has become a mixture of audience and live streaming interaction and Gary believes that it will be this combination of temperament and experience that will take lighting design and programming to the next level in the live entertainment world. He looks forward to new developments and believes that Martin has come a long way in terms of design. “The ideas surrounding the latest software and the feel of the M-Series are placing the brand ahead of the pack in terms of lighting control”.