Behind the Scene with MJ Event for Anugerah Juara Lagu 30
Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam, Malaysia – The long awaited Anugerah Juara Lagu 30 (AJL30) held their award winning event on 24thJanuary 2016 at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam. AJL is an annual music competition event in Malaysia, organized by TV3 since 1986. Performances from Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Yasin Sulaiman, Datuk Jamal Abdillah, Black, Jaclyn Victor and many more sparked up the stadium. The vibrant atmosphere was enhanced further as the crowd cheered for Akim Ahmad and his band “Akim and the Majistret”. Winners of AJL30, the band song “Potret” led them to the RM50,000 grand prize. A further RM12,000 was given to the band as they also won the best performance award that night. It was definitely a spectacular night for Akim Ahmad and his band bagging two awards. Coming in second, Faizal Tahir took the RM35,000 with his song “Assalamualaikum” while Caliph Buskers took the third place with the song “Hanya Namamu”.
Apart from the amazing performance displayed by the artistes, we were smitten by the lighting display. The swirls and beams of the lighting fixtures were a spectacular performance in itself. With a total of at least 190 lighting fixture installed throughout the Stadium, we were able to witness these lights performing in unison. Lighting engineer professionally coordinated these lights to blend in harmoniously with one another. Most prominent and notable lighting fixtures were the Clay Paky’s lighting fixtures series. We were able to spot 70 Sharpy installed around the stage and bleachers. Furthermore, a total of 20 Clay Paky B-eye K20, 22 Apha Wash 1500 and 10 Alpha Spot HPE 1500 were used throughout the event. These lighting were able to perform their colour transition smoothly. Aside from the lights, The Sennheiser’s SKM2000 were used as one of the main microphone.
In such a huge event, sound consoles must have at least 200 channels for the sound engineers to monitor and Solid State Logic (SSL) was one of the brands that had the capabilities of monitoring 200 channels and more. Colourful illuminated pads were the first thing that caught our eyes are the SSL Live Consoles. A total of three SSL Live Consoles were spotted that night. Peter, a freelance sound engineer, took control of the SSL 500 Plus Live Console for the Front of House while Jim and a TV3 sound engineer, Zundun took the SSL 300 and 500 Live Console for monitor respectively. We were able to examine these consoles up close and personal as we watched each sound engineer operate the console with ease. Jim who used the SSL 300 for monitor, acclaimed that the sound console was really convenient and great to use. “It’s a great console. Even though it was a little complicated when I first used it during the rehearsal, I was able to adjust myself as I spent time tweaking and operating the console. It takes time to be familiar with it, but once you are familiar with it, everything will go accordingly. One of the features that I enjoyed was reverbs. I have not tried most of the preset, but I do enjoy using the reverbs and its preamps are fantastic. Other features that I find it convenient are the display panels. I am able to do pinching and even control the levels through the monitor screen. I think it is a powerful console and capable of handling these kind of events,” commented Jim. “For someone like me who enjoyed using analog consoles or older console, it was a huge change when I tried the SSL. There were so many faders and functions that I needed to learn and understand. However, the SSL 500 could definitely get its job done,” commented Peter.
Through the hustle and bustle in Stadium Malawati, we were honored to meet and greet the man behind MJ Event Management. MJ Event Management was appointed as one of the vendors for Anugerah Juara Lagu’s Acoustic and Lightings equipment. Manja having such a friendly personality and approachable presence gave us a firm handshake as we took time to get to know him and his company better.
How did it all begin?
MJ Event started off as an event consultant company. I myself hosted corporate functions and concerts. As time went by, I felt that the company needed to grow and expand. I decided to venture deeper into the event industry. I began developing system and functions for the company structure, putting myself out there in the market getting as much projects I can. It was around 2003, I had the opportunity to work with our local television station, NTV7. Media Prima’s NTV7 offered us a job with their program “Rock Unite” which aired live every week. That was the turning point for MJ Event Management. My company believes in providing quality services and product. Through this job, we have been recognized for providing great services and I like to keep that throughout the years of service.
What happened next?
They say opportunity does not come twice. I took that advice and I began exploring many acoustic and lighting equipment. Being in the event industry and working with broadcast company, I knew I needed to be on par with the latest audio visual technology. In order to sell my company services, I needed to provide services that are consistent and effective. As my company juggled between ad hoc events such as annual dinner, product launching and carnivals, we encountered many difficulties, during that era as there was a sudden increase in event companies. Everyone wanted to be an event manager and competition was real. Through perseverance and determination, I took the opportunity to see areas of my company that can be developed and improved. Around 2007, I started to focus on audio and lighting and continued to progress along with Media Prima. My company had the chance to work on Carnival Jom Heboh 2010. As I continued investing in my company’s inventory with better audio and lighting equipment, I got the opportunity to work on one of Astro’s program, Dakwah Pencetus Ummah Season 1 and Season 2.That itself was an achievement for me to step foot into Astro programs. We were also given the opportunity to work on Super Spontan which received at least 5,000 audience in their finals in Melaka.
Please elaborate on some significant events you have done over the years in the event industry?
Maharaja Lawak Mega 2015, was significant to me because it was one of my company events that fully used RCF speakers. The TT55 and TT33 series were superb because it was able to throw the sound throughout the venue. I was stunned, impress and realized how powerful RCF speakers were. We used Sennheiser SKM500 and Sennheiser MI products as I felt they were able to work together with the speakers. It was the right decision as the clients were impressed with our work. What makes this event even more significant was that we got awarded to work on Maharaja Lawak Mega 2016. Festival Anugerah Juara Lagu that was held in Dataran 1 Malaysia, Pantai Klebang, Melaka was definitely another significant event for me. A stunning audience of 20,000 watched the event. In that event, my company used RCF TT series again with SSL as the sound consoles. The outcome was superb, with the SSL Live Consoled 500 Plus as the FOH and SSL Live Console 300 for monitor. The sound reproduced by the speaker were able to cancel the noise from the waves and winds. I was standing around 300m away from the source and was able to feel the vibration and there wasn’t any cancelation.
What are your comments on Anugerah Juara Lagu 30?
The minimum requirement for AJL30 sound monitor console should be at least 200 channels with 5.1 surround sound capabilities. One thing came into my mind was the SSL Live Console. They were capable of providing these features. That is why I suggested to use the SSL in AJL30. Additionally, I wanted to test how the SSL will perform in this event. After today, I wasn’t disappointed at the outcome. There is something I would like to mention as well. Our client gave us a time frame for us to handover, which was on the 21st January 2016, and we manage to handover 2 days before the dateline. One tagline or motto that I always used is “Preparation before Operation”. A successful event always comes down to a proper preparation. There is no hassle or problem if you have the preparation. Of course, there will always be some unforeseen circumstances, but if you are prepare, there is always a solution. When I was given the time frame, I had planned precisely the timing for installation of truss, speakers and lightings. Additionally, each division or team has their own system engineer where they will give instruction to their crew. I am glad and thankful to MJ crew member for being able to work in such a tight timeline. Along with various speakers, one would notice the RCF TT series we used for the event. There were 1 RCT TT series tower on both side of the stage. As for the lightings we mainly used Clay Paky lights coupled with other lighting brands such as PR Lighting. We used a total of 40 LED Wash, PR-8120 for the event. I shared my idea on the lighting installation with the lighting engineers and they were satisfied with it. The Clay Paky Sharpy, Alpha Wash 1500, Alpha Spot HPE 1500 and B-eye k20 were astounding, the client loved it and enjoyed the lighting show as we tested. As for the main microphone, the Sennheiser SKM 2000 provided by the client was used. Although some artistes and talents brought their own, most were using the Sennheisers.
“I’d like to give my thanks to Acoustic & Lighting System for always been supporting me. Mr. Yeo and Mr. Alexander has always been pushing, encouraging and supplying me with great equipment. My plans for my company would be to continue to share my experiences with others. I don’t aim to be a champion, but to share our event experience with others. We will continue to provide quality services and product to our client,” commented Mr. Manja as we asked for his plans and closing statement.