MDG haze generators were used in staging this year’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK, New Music Contest), an annual live television broadcast that culminates in viewers and an international jury selecting Finland’s representative for the Eurovision Song Contest.
This year’s finals, held on 20 February 2021, marked the show’s 10th anniversary. The evening was broadcast live in four languages from Mediapolis television studios in Tampere, Finland, and televised on Yle TV1 to an audience of 1.7 million viewers, breaking all records.
Pekka Martti of Aku’s Factory turned to MDG haze generators to support his lighting design, using its pure white haze to show off a range of stunning visuals that created a different look and mood for each of the seven contestants.
With the help of MDG’s Finnish distributor, msonic, Martti selected an MDG ATMe haze generator and an MDG theOne dual haze and fog generator for the event. “I wanted a haze machine that I knew would make the beams of light look good on camera, and for television shows, MDG – which I have been using since 2006 – is a must,” said Martti. “I love the haze quality I get from them in television and live shows. The haze is white so does not discolour the light beams or make them appear brownish like some other machines do.”
Martti positioned theOne atmospheric (dual fog and haze) generator, set in haze mode, onstage behind the upstage curtain, and placed the ATMe haze machine in the auditorium; there was no live audience due to COVID restrictions. “This way we were able to show the beams to best advantage across the whole venue,” he said. “I think the biggest advantage of MDG haze is the quality: not only is it white, it produces an even haze with no big clouds so we could have a smooth canvas to work on.”
Because the UMK21 final was a live broadcast, Martti also needed to be totally confident of the reliability of the haze generators. “I’ve worked on festivals for 15 years, and I always want MDG,” he said. “I’ve had 15-year-old MDG Max5000 fog machines and those are still rocking! So I would say that MDG is most reliable machine available – and yes I would use them again!”
The UMK21 final was hosted by Antti Tuisku, a Finnish pop star, and the winners were Blind Channel, with their song Dark Side. They went on to represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in May 2021.
The theONE and the ATMe generators were supplied to Aku’s Factory by MDG’s Finnish distributor, msonic.
