Download 20 Times Bigger

/,9(6281'
20 Times Bigger
The 20th anniversary of SCTV Indonesia marked a new stage in the history of broadcasting megaconcerts within the territory, as Ric Pathiss discovers
THROWING A PARTY TO CELEBRATE
a company’s anniversary might
not be unusual, but the concept
recently took on a new dimension
in Indonesia when Surya Citra
Televisi (SCTV), one of the country’s
oldest national broadcasters, set
out to mark its 20th birthday.
While most companies would
approach such a landmark with an
excited fervour, the staff at SCTV
did so with a determined zeal,
exhaustively working towards a goal
of unprecedented proportions – the
biggest outdoor concert ever staged
at Ancol, Jakarta, coupled to its
simultaneous live broadcast as part
of a 20-hour long day of live shows
from all over the country.
Indeed, the Gempita 20 Tahun
(Spectacular 20 Years) concert,
which was held at Carnaval Beach,
Ancol on August 24th, was so vast
that it broke new ground not only in
Indonesia’s broadcasting industry
but in its live sound sector as well,
drawing together approximately
550 entertainers. It’s perhaps no
The SCTV spectacular stage
wonder that SCTV vice president
Duto Sulistiadi describes it as
substantially more of a challenge
than previous similar events.
‘For this year’s anniversary the
preparations took much longer than
in previous years,’ he declares,
in what might be considered
November–December 2010 PRO AUDIO ASIA
Presentation System
112 PRO AUDIO ASIA November–December 2010
DiGiCo desks in use at front of house
something of an understatement.
‘This year’s preparations were a lot
more complicated and sophisticated
both in technical and non technical
terms, as well as artistic.’
No doubt sharing not only that
view but also the broadcaster’s
excitement at staging such a
dazzling event is regional audio
rental company Sumber Ria, who
were engaged to handle the live
sound portion of the concert. The
company’s sound supervisor Andre
Supryanata is certainly quick to
become enthused when explaining
the concept behind Gempita 20
Tahun.
‘We’re very close with SCTV,’
he explains. ‘For the anniversary,
they wanted for the first time
to present 20 bands playing at
the same time. Sumber Ria was
challenged to go all out, providing
the mixers, loudspeakers, and the
band equipment.’ Some regional
rental houses might have found
themselves daunted at such a
prospect, but Sumber Ria has a
long history of serving major live
events, including participating in
the 2010 Jakarta International Java
Jazz Festival. Nevertheless, the
scale of the project was significant.
‘What was very important for us
was that this was the first time that
Some of the many DiGiCo consoles supplied
/,9(6281'
we had sent out nine mixers for one
event,’ explained Mr Supryanata,
adding: ‘SCTV was pretty ambitious
regarding the event’s scale.’
Striking a similar note is Deny
Omen, the stage designer in
charge of the concert, whose own
ambition matched that of SCTV
itself. ‘We were thinking of creating
a half circle shape backdrop stage,
encompassing extensive LEDs and
a special reflector effect of the
moonlight,’ he describes, making
the stage sound remarkable in
itself. It seems even more so
however, when the work that went
into its creation is considered. Its
design alone was almost a month
on the drawing board, while its
physical construction required a full
week. Adding the moonlight effect
meanwhile was Bob Asap, who
commissioned a 15m wide and 8m
high LED backdrop supplied by two
companies in the shape of PT LED
Pro and Sima Agustus. The result
transformed the Ancol beachside
into a locale more closely
resembling Ibiza, while Omen
himself describes the outdoor stage
as the grandest ever erected for a
concert in Indonesia.
Nor was the content of the
day’s live television opus any
less impressive. Starting at 5am
on August 24th, SCTV began
broadcasting live from the site with
a morning news program. That was
followed by light entertainment
programming and the InBox music
request show, delivered from
both the SCTV Jakarta studios at
Senayan City Mall, and the station’s
Kebon Jeruk branch. Later in the
day a comedy show named Teamlo
Cinta Uya was similarly performed
live. Finally, the programming
ceased at 7.30pm, when the
mega-concert itself took over the
airwaves, and SCTV president Fofo
Sariaatmadja spoke live to the
nation before receiving awards
from the Museum of Indonesian
Records (MURI).
Having finally made it on to
television after its long period in
development, the stage looked
spectacular, incorporating a plasticshelled area for the Magenta
Orchestra – under conductor and
arranger Andy Rianto – which was
located in the middle of the artificial
flooring. Flanking the stage were
32 flown EAW KF760 loudspeakers
serving as the main front of house
sound reinforcement, while a
further 32 custom-built SB550
subwoofers delivered low end.
DiGiCo mixers supplied by Sumber
Ria held the show together, with
three D5 consoles, two DiGiCo
D1 boards and four SD8 models
all in use. DPA microphones were
employed on stage for all the
performing artists.
Providing a fitting start to the
musical performance was the
Kotak Band, who presented 20
young drummers to mark the
broadcaster’s 20th anniversary.
As impressive as the performance
was, however, it also demonstrated
the delicacy of the system supplied
by Sumber Ria, with the band’s
vocalist still pristine in the mix
despite the pounding drums.
Completing the rig to provide
onstage sound were a staggering
60 RCF-Art 500 speakers alongside
Meyer Sound MJF212 enclosures.
A broad range of performers
followed them on stage as the
mammoth concert continued,
including pop artists such as
Gita Gutawa, Cinta Laura, and
guitarist Enda from the band Ungu,
who stole much of the show by
performing alongside 20 female
guitarists from the Guitar School of
Indonesia. Other performing artists
included Mulan Jameela, Dewi
Persik, Gigi, Drive, Teuku Wisnu and
Shireen Sungkar, Slank, Ari Lasso,
Dewa 19, Mahadewi, Rossa, ST12,
Maylaffayza, Kuburan, Padi, and
Kerispatih. In total, 40 bands and
an array of soloists appeared at
the celebration, taking in genres
as broad as rock, pop, R&B and
signature Indonesian Dangdut
melodies. The concert continued to
broadcast live until 1am on August
25th, in all presenting five and a
half hours of musical entertainment
for SCTV viewers, in addition to the
mass of live programming that had
preceded it.
With its extravagant setting and
huge performances, Gempita 20
Tahun was intended to be seen
as an unrepeatable celebration of
SCTV’s achievements in national
broadcasting, but in fact it went
EAW sound reinforcement was used for FOH
further. In demonstrating the extent
to which Indonesian broadcasting
and live performance can impress
its home audience and those
watching internationally, the event
has come to serve as something
of a testament to all the combined
industries involved in making it
happen. What started as a party for
SCTV, has become a point of pride
for Indonesia itself.
www.ancolevent.co.id
www.sumber-ria.com
www.sctv.co.id
www.liputan6.com
?hkZ\hnlmb\Zeer]^fZg]bg`ebo^Ziieb\Zmbhglk^jnbkbg`
^q\^imbhgZe%Zkmb\neZm^lhng]jnZebmrZg]k^ebZ[bebmr%
=I:a^Z][Zg]lZk^lfZeeZg]eb`amp^b`am %
ikhob]bg`Zl^\nk^Zg]\hf_hkmZ[e^Öm%pabe^
=I:eZoZeb^klh__^kZ\hfiZ\m%]bl\k^m^]^lb`g'
1/2 island
Mixing at front of house
November–December 2010 PRO AUDIO ASIA 113