
Robe Helps Play It Forward with Oooth posted: 03/07/2020
Play It Forward an incendiary new live show by South African rockers Oooth - well known for their love of high production values and visual stage presentations - was part of a dynamic live stream designed as a fundraiser for tattoo artists across the country and freelance technicians via #FeedOurCrew who have been left high and dry and without any income during the Covid-19 lockdown. The broadcast - on YouTube and Facebook Live - also included interviews, features and panel discussions, and was staged at leading SA rental company MGG's Studio B facility, one of two such facilities at their HQ in Johannesburg, complete with a full Robe lighting rig.
Reaching around 6000 fans, whilst Play it Forward' was airing, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the following day tattoo artists and studios would be able to re-start their businesses. On hearing this fantastic news, they in turn made a collective decision to donate the proceeds to #FeedOurCrew, an NGO which is providing basic needs and essential relief for event industry freelancers whilst large gatherings and shows are still banned.
MGG's Johannesburg Studio B is the largest of the two at around 16 x 16 metres - allowing for a good amount of social distancing - and has been set up in their structures warehouse since the lockdown, as the company has reorganised and re-purposed itself to deal with radical changes in its current business. With a decent amount of headroom, its ideal for rock n' roll style streamed shows ... which have been produced there since SA instituted level 3 lockdown on June 1st.
MGG's talented and resourceful resident lighting technicians Sipho Kekana and Hein Str h worked together to design the lighting for both Johannesburg studios (MGG has a third at its Cape Town branch), and their input included specifying the 50 x Robe moving lights.
It includes six of MGG's new Robe ESPRITE Profile LED units with the transferrable engine, purchased just before Covid-19 brought the industry to a standstill, together with Pointes, Spiiders, Spikies, LEDBeam 150s, LEDWash 600s, DL4S Profiles, CycFX 8 and Tetra2 moving LED battens ... all of which were picked for their versatility and multifunctionality.
Most of the fixtures are LED light sources to save on daily running costs and assist with keeping temperatures lower and more comfortable without having to crank up the AC excessively.
The ESPRITES are the principal key lighting and are used for accurate framing and sharp shuttering work, and their range of colour temperate whites works superbly on camera.
The LEDWash 600s are the studio's workhorse wash lights together with the Spiiders which can also add extra pixel effects and work as both beams and washes.
The CycFX 8s provide front fill light and footlights to help eliminate eye and nose shadows, while the little Spikies are upstage on the floor punching away with vibrant, dazzling beam effects projected behind the artists.
The Pointes are rigged in the roof grid alongside the LEDBeam100s for additional beam effects and gobo to evoke the vibe of performing on an authentic live stage.
All of these are controlled via a grandMA2.
There has been no better choice of light for us here than the Robe LED-based fixtures, commented Sipho.
Studio B has four Canon HD camera kits installed to catch every angle, all mixed on a Barco FSN switcher with the band all utilising Shure PSM 1000 in-ear monitors engineered via a DiGiCo SD12 audio console in a totally separate control room together with a pair of L-Acoustics 108Ps for the reference mix.
MGG's studio technical crews are working in bubbles so they are fully Covid-19 compliant, and as with all employees and in fact anyone entering the building, there are regular temperature checks, social distancing imposed, compulsory mask-wearing and abundant sanitising facilities throughout.
Oooth are a 4-piece band with some serious attitude, fronted by Jason Oosthuizen ... who is a multi-instrumentalist and a drummer in several other bands which he also manages. In Oooth, he swaps his back-of-stage comfort zone, adds a guitar, and struts his stuff front and centre! The change in perspective keeps him fresh and energised.
Not that there are many dull moments in his schedule! He also has his own wine, coffee, and clothing brands and plenty of tattoos which is where this project started - to highlight the incredible skills, creativity, and philosophy of body art.
Jason also takes a keen interest in production and ensuring that his bands always look and sound fantastic, it's all part of the audience experience . Oooth have their own PA and some lighting and are hoping to invest in further lighting when the industry gets moving again.
He was delighted with the results of the stream.
It looked and sounded amazing, he commented after the show, really appreciating the skills and professionalism of the MGG crews and technicians plus all the energy and enthusiasm that everyone put into making it memorable.
Not having played properly for a couple of months, after an animated set, he admitted to a few aches and pains the following day!
As well as MGG supporting this fundraiser, Robe's South African distributor DWR was extremely proactive in the realisation of Play It Forward and has also been an avid contributor and supporter of Feed Out Crew.
About Feed Our Crew
#FeedOurCrew was established during lockdown by MGG's Tamsyn Strydom and Kagiso Moima from Blackmotion. It is a non-profit organization that has distributed hundreds of grocery vouchers to assist theatre and technical freelancers left stranded by the government's current relief programmes. The SOS Charity fund, an initiative started by Robe's South African distributor DWR, has al
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
08/10/2026
Calrec will be located at Booth 444.
Freedom to choose
The media landscape is evolving quickly, and the broadcasters best placed for what comes next will be...
08/10/2026
LiveU has announced that CRD Audiovisuel relied on LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit, with built-in native LiveU IQ (LIQ ) connectivity, to deliver live...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Marshall Electronics, a globally recognized provider of high-performance video solutions for broadcast, streaming, AV and professional production, will exhibit ...
08/10/2026
14-hour package also includes A Remarkable Place to Die season 2 as well as libr...