The municipality of Saint Nicolas de la Grave has organized carnival celebrations for the past eight decades in the South of France. Taking place in a local multipurpose community hall, in past years the event ran on two consecutive Saturdays, however for 2022 it was extended to also include both Fridays. For a number of years, Les Rythmes de la Nuit have provided the production and DJ entertainment for one of the evenings; however, for 2022, this was extended to cover the whole event. DJ Mast, a prolific French DJ who has toured extensively both in his own country and across Europe, was booked to play on the opening night. For the remaining three evenings, Les Rythmes de la Nuit’s own DJ Goldmaster took care of the music, joined for the final party by live percussion from Lorenzo percu live and Brazilian dancer Aquarela Del sol.
Fortunately, the equipment could be left set up and securely stored in the venue between the four nights, which meant that Lighting, Video & Sound Designer, Kévin Antoine, was able to pull out all the stops in his rig design. At the center of this was a floor standing truss arch, which was used to frame the DJ position and also to support 10 of ADJ’s Vizi Beam RXONE dedicated beam luminaires. These compact yet hugely potent fixtures are ideal for generating piercing aerial effects and are a staple feature of Les Rythmes de la Nuit’s lighting projects.
An upstage truss was used to support eight Vizi Beam 5RX dedicated beam fixtures alongside four Vizi Hybrid 16RX multifunctional beam/ spot/wash luminaires. Both models have been a part of Les Rythmes de la Nuit’s rental stock for many years and, although the products have since been discontinued, they continue to serve the company reliably. For the Saint Nicolas de la Grave Carnival rig, the Vizi Beam 5RXs were used to shoot razor sharp beams down and out over the performers on stage. Meanwhile, the versatile Vizi Hybrid 16RXs were used for additional beams as well as to project gobo pattern effects down onto the stage and also to wash the performers on stage from behind.
Six additional Vizi Beam 5RX units were positioned on a downstage truss that ran almost the entire length of the room. Divided into two sets of three, these fixtures were positioned to the far sides of the PA hangs and used to shoot beams down to the dance floor area from the sides of the rig. Six further fixtures were then positioned directly on the stage, three on either side of the central DJ booth, to shoot beams upward. Meanwhile, two further Vizi Hybrid 16RX fixtures were also positioned directly on the stage, one at either side of the DJ position.
The final ADJ fixture type used for the event was the Vizi CMY300, the company’s feature-packed hybrid utility fixture which functions interchangeably as a beam, spot or wash luminaire. Powered by a potent 300-Watt LED light engine, it offers a massive zoom range of 8-46 degrees and a whole host of beam-shaping tools including two gobo wheels (one fixed and the other rotating and replaceable), two rotating prisms (6-facet linear and 3-facet circular) and CMY color mixing. For the Saint Nicolas de la Grave Carnival, six of the fixtures were used, positioned on top of 1-meter high truss plinths, three on each side of the central arch.
“For me, the Vizi CMY300 is ADJ’s ‘gold star’ product,” enthuses Antoine. “When we were looking at investing in the fixture, we did a comparison against a significantly more expensive option from a competitor – which is considered to be the ‘standard’ for many lighting professionals in France – and the CMY300 was as good, if not better, in almost every way. Its brightness is incredible, the gobos are great, it offers very good value for money – considering what it is capable of – and it is very versatile. When its beam angle is opened up wide it is still very bright, but it can also create very nice narrow beam effects; whatever we need it to do, it can do. The CMY color mixing is also particularly important for us, especially when we are working to an artist rider, as it is something that is almost always requested.”
Antoine designed the rig in advance using the Capture previsualization software, which allowed all of his programming to be carried out before arriving on site. When the equipment was set up at the venue, a few position updates were all that were required to have the lighting system ready for action.
To enhance the beams generated by the large quantity of moving head fixtures, the team used a pair of ADJ’s Entour Haze Pro atmospheric generators. These compact haze machines use oil-based fluid to create a fine mist which will linger in the air for a significant period of time. It requires no warm-up time and, with an air pressure of 101psi, is able to generate an impressive output of 3,000 cubic ft. per minute. The machine is built into a robust flight case, with convenient handles and a multi-part removable lid, which offers protection both in transit and while in use.
“We had been looking for a haze machine for a while when the Entour Haze Pro was released and it offered everything that we wanted,” explains Kévin. “It is a really nice product. The output is insane, with two of them we can fill even the biggest of venues with a nice consistent haze covering that will effectively enhance the beams of our lighting fixtures. The haze is persistent so, once a room is filled, you often can leave the machine off. It is also very thin, which means that it doesn’t prevent visibility or distract performers, which is also very important.”
To complement the lighting rig, the team also deployed an extensive LED video system, which Antoine integrated coherently into his overall stage design. This comprised a central 6 x 4 screen constructed from ADJ’s AV4IP panels, positioned behind the DJ position and the central truss arch. This was paired with a separate 6 x 2 screen, constructed from the same type of panels, which was positioned in front of the DJ booth. The larger rear screen was raised to a height such that, when viewed from the front at the right angle, the appearance of a single 6 x 6 panel screen was created. The video element of the stage design was extended out from this central focus both at stage level and in the air. Six pairs of AV4IP panels were positioned in front of the truss plinths which supported the Vizi CMY300 fixtures, while four separate 2 x 3 panel screens, comprised of AV6 panels, were hung from the upstage truss, spread across the rear of the stage set.
“As always, the ADJ video panels worked very well on this project,” he comments. “They are very bright, the picture quality is very good, and they are also very versatile. I set up multiple surfaces within the video software, so sometimes the main screen and the area in front of the DJ booth were used separately to display particular content, while the other screens showed ambient content, and at other times we ran content across all the panels as one large display.”
Drawn together by Antoine’s integrated stage design, and working in synchronization, the ADJ lighting, video and atmospheric equipment completely transformed the Saint Nicolas de la Grave multipurpose hall into a vibrant party destination, attracting crowds of up to 800 to 900 per night.
