INSTALL STORY: SPECIAL VENUE LIGHTING
Star Dimensions India accomplishes STATE-OF-THE-ART-
LIGHTING ARCHITECTURE for the BANDRA WONDERLAND project in Mumbai
Ashish Mehta & Becket Tundatil Creatively Execute Seamless Architectural Lighting Design at
the Iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link comes alive in a display of lights and colour to
celebrate Christmas and New Year.
India's maximum city - Mumbai - capped off 2021 in spectacular style with the first-of-its-kind
'Bandra Wonderland' project that saw the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the ever-bustling Bandra
Reclamation promenade coming alive in a dazzling display of lights and colour to celebrate the
festive occasion of Christmas and New Year's Eve. PALM +AV-ICN Reports.
Between 24th December 2021 and 2nd January 2022, the project came
alive as the sun set on the city - with the entire 1.5 km of the Bandra Reclamation promenade being
engulfed in specially themed displays that emphasized the four different seasons of the year,
boasting different eye-catching sections like a boot house, a crib, an igloo, a reindeer, a Santa
ride, a heart, multiple selfie-stations and several different uniquely shaped tunnels and walkways.
Even the adjoining greenery and trees located by the sidewalk of the promenade were brightly
decorated, which added to the overall grandeur of the space.
On the other hand, the Bandra Worli Sea Link, which measures in at a total of 5.6 km long and 8-lane
wide, too was washed over with a captivating display of colourful lights that emphasized the same
'four seasons of the year' concept, offering a truly spell-binding viewing experience, irrespective
of whether viewed from up-close while travelling on the bridge or from afar on the city shoreline.
The sea-link also hosted a special laser beam show which took place at midnight delivon New Year's
Eve and acted as the perfect welcome sight to ring in 2022
Project Highlight
Entrusted with the responsibility of bringing the ambitious Bandra Wonderland vision to life was one
of India's leading event management companies - DNA Entertainment Networks Pvt.
Limited, who are regarded as pioneers in the art of flawlessly delivering awe-inspiring
and unforgettable live entertainment experiences of every scale.
Considering the sheer magnitude, scale and high-value importance of the Bandra Wonderland, DNA chose
to partner with Star Dimensions India Pvt Ltd, one of India's foremost professional
live entertainment technology service providers for the required inventory. Star Dimensions and DNA
have a long-standing association and the two organizations have worked together on several different
live mega- productions for over a decade.
To execute the design and vision for this project, Kaunain Merchant, Assistant VP,
Team DNA Entertainment Networks, got in touch with celebrated Lighting Designer, Becket
Tundatil, of Fireflies.
With the project envisioned as the city's celebratory hurrah for Christmas 2021 and New Year 2022,
the team overcame insurmount- able odds to successfully illuminate the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link
and Bandra Reclamation promenade through a seamless confluence of world-class professional
entertainment lighting and architectural lighting technologies.
Bandra-Worli Sea Link illuminated with a string of lights in a changing array of
colors as the towering arches and cables were bathed in rainbow hues.
able odds to successfully illuminate the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link and Bandra Reclamation
promenade through a seamless confluence of world-class professional entertainment lighting and
architectural lighting technologies.
Ashish Mehta, Technical Director & Co-Founder of Star Dimensions India Pvt Ltd
shares, "We have been associated with DNA Entertainment for over a decade and have worked with them
on several different mammoth productions - much to their satisfaction and content. This made us the
natural go-to partners who could assure the kind of superior technical service and systems that they
desired for this project; and we're extremely honoured to have been entrusted with this opportunity
to be a part of something so historic. Having said that, working on the Bandra Wonderland project
has by far been one of the most challenging yet most memorable and satisfying professional
experience in the history of our company - none of which would've been possible without all the
hard-work and dedication of our amazing team who worked tirelessly in ensuring an absolutely
flawless execution.
Challenge
Mehta informs that from the first brief with the DNA team to the eventual final execution, the Star
Dimensions team had an overall time frame of just 48 hours. Another extremely crucial challenge that
stood before the team was that of the environmental conditions of the project location itself. Being
an outdoor location directly on the Arabian Sea, it was quite the task for the Star Dimensions team
to work in the rather extreme maritime condition, with the location being extremely hot during the
day and extremely cold at night.
against them, the Star Dimensions team managed to successfully commission the complete rigging,
testing, and programming safely and securely within a span of 36 hours, thanks to meticulous
planning and dedicated efforts invested by every single member. Taking the extremely tight
turn-around time into special consideration, the warehouse team worked over night with a focused
strategy of vehicle movements and ensured safe off-loading of equipment on-site, strictly abiding by
the precisely planned loadin roster. Most of the addressing of key fixtures was done at the
warehouse itself, which helped in reducing the overall rigging time to half; with the on-site
rigging team split into two separate units, each of which were equipped with all necessary personal
safety gear and following mandated safety protocols. The respective teams individually worked
tirelessly either during the day or the night and ensured that the entire set up was commissioned
seamlessly and within the given time frame.
Safety gear and following mandated safety protocols. The respective teams individually worked
tirelessly either during the day or the night and ensured that the entire set up was commissioned
seamlessly and within the given time frame.
"The most challenging aspect of this project was Programming & Designing the whole lighting
design from five kilometers via networking. Networking installation and programming are the most
challenging in distance manner," said Becket.
Conceptualization
Talking about the short timeline to execute the entire delivery, Becket says,
"Given the grandeur and importance of the show, there was a tight timeline to implement the project
perfectly. The show had to be on-of its kind in India and ensure that people felt the festive and
celebratory spirit. But with a good crew like Star Dimensions and Light Craft and
top-of-the-line equipment in the country like ClayPaky, Elation Lighting, Chroma-Q Vista, and Martin
Lighting, we were sure we could pull off the setup in time with pre-planning and smooth
coordination," said Becket. The execution of lighting design architecture is a systematic process.
Becket first designed the whole Architecture of the Worli Sea link by CAD Drafting design with
estimation gauge and then executed the measurements and structure design. The Lighting designer
built a rig for lighting design and then plotted the configuration to accomplish the right visuals.
After finishing the lighting plot, the architecture lighting design was ready to be executed.
"Light Craft and Star Dimension have a versatile inventory for lighting gear and products. For this
project, the companies unanimously came together to provide 670 lighting Fixtures. We used Win 11
64bit to ensure that hardware and software run smoothly with Server site System for all the lighting
design and Development and observed the system by using a Desk Track to monitor all the workflow and
benchmarks," said Becket.
Fireflies used Star Topology to customize the networking design. The lighting designer connected all
the devices to a single hub through a cable-called central node. All the other nodes connect to the
central node. The hub used in this project is intelligent and active with built-in repeaters. All X,
Y, Z Controllers, and Artnet get connected with the final hub that gives Data Packets. These Data
packets collect Data from all the controllers and send it to the Computer and Console, which shows
which controller was working and sending the signal. After that, they developed a light patch design
on the computer and console.
"We used Croma Q Vista 3 Console & Software, and Vista I3 & Vista I2 Lighting
Console for operating and executing the designs. We created a timeline for theme-wise
cue play and put Two operators for real-time theme changes," said Becket.
The concept and processing point took three days, and to plan the architecture design, CAD drafting
itself took three days. To execute the design and installation setup, 40 Workers, ten technicians,
two supervisors, two designers, and a programmer completed the installation within four days.
Overall, each day was dedicated to networking, programming, and designing.
Lighting Schematics
Star Dimensions team deployed a vast range of intelligent lighting fixtures that stretched over 6 kms
on each side of the bridge making it one of largest on ground installs that the company has
commissioned till date. The inventory included the use of over 1200 fixtures from industry leading
manufacturers like Elation, Martin Lighting, and Clay Paky; with lights being
spread over 4 lanes on either side of the sea-link which constituted a total of 12kms. The idea of
running data cables of those lengths across the bridge was clearly not feasible, and this prompted
the team to run the entire rig wirelessly to keep things organized and simplified for quick and easy
troubleshooting. The team chose to rely on the Artnet Protocol to run networking capabilities across
the entire stretch with multiple distribution boxes for power and data.
Speaking about the choice of inventory deployed for the project and the intricacies involved in
bringing the design ideas together, Mehta explains, "Our main workforce for this entire project was
Elation Platinum FLX, an award winning 3-in-1 light with a very powerful luminary
output. We had to achieve a wide coverage over the water and had to ensure that audiences across
either side of the bridge were able to experience this spectacle. While balancing the intense
flourishes and movements with the heads, we also had to ensure that the six pylons and stay cables
appeared clearly with soft lush washes, while maintaining clear visibility of the sea-link's
intricate design, and we found the Martin Quantum Wash to be the perfect choice to
bring this design idea to life, owing to its sheer power and market leading optical system. One of
the key aspects in bringing our designs for this project together was for us to secure a centric
view of the bridge, and we managed to find such a spot for ourselves on the opposite side of the
coast. This made it a lot easier for us to accomplish our programming and design ideas, with the
lighting programming being commissioned via WAN networking over a span of 5 Km.
Martin Lighting and Claypaky Dazzle the Eight-Lane Wide Bandra-Worli Sea Link
For the laser show that took place on the night of New Year's Eve, the team deployed FB4
enabled lasers from Kvant's Atom and Spectrum series, which have been designed
specifically to deliver impactful aerial beam shows and liquid skies. "Conceptually, our objective
once again was to ensure that the special laser show could be enjoyed by every single person
watching it from any side of the sea- link" Mehta reiterates.
Additionally, the Star Dimensions team commissioned tailored lighting solutions for the different
themed sections at the Bandra Reclamation promenade, with the individual walkways and tunnels being
equipped with multiple washes that ensured a unique vibe at each space, while features like the boot
house, crib, reindeer, and Santa ride etc., were equipped with a mix of spot lighting fixtures,
washes and custom-designed lighting sources to create a truly wonderous spectacle.
Conclusion
The experience of successfully pulling off such a monumental project was one that will remain etched
in the minds and hearts of the entire Star Dimensions team, as Mehta asserts, "Working on the Bandra
Wonderland project has been a truly life-changing experience - not just for me personally, but the
entire team. The fact that we were able to pull off such a humungous project in sublime fashion, is
a testimony to the unparalleled level of commitment, expertise and sheer grit of team Star
Dimensions. For me personally, the most memorable moment of this project was seeing the iconic
sea-link finally lit up with those enchanting colors and patterns that exemplified the true essence
and spirit of Mumbai, our hometown. It definitely is an experience that my team and I are extremely
proud of, and one that we will cherish forever."
"We faced challenges from start to end, but overall, it was a great experience," concludes Becket.
Overall, the project was bought to life by Star Dimensions. The success of this project elevated the
festive spirit and placed Mumbai on the Global map of Christmas and New Year Celebrations.
"This Project has turned around heads of all Indians towards the iconic bridge. This is a very proud
moment for us to be part of this project and establish an everlasting memory" said, Kaunain.
The 10-day long spectacle was celebrated also on several networking platforms online by many
noteworthy personalities from the field of politics, entertainment, sport and more - with
dignitaries like the Hon'able Cabinet minister of Maharashtra, Shri Aaditya
Thackeray posting a video on Twitter showcasing the gorgeous view of the Bandra-Worli
Sea Link, while also inviting everyone to see the decoration and enjoy festivities safely. Cricket
mega-star Virat Kohli also shared his amazement via a tweet that read "Phenomenal Job Guys. The city
looks so festive and lovely!".