Except for some single-minded fans of genres like opera, or baroque chamber ensembles, it’s impossible for any music lovers of any stripe to attend the Zurich Open Air Festival and not find multiple performances to love. A musical melting pot, the three-day festival held in suburban Glattbrugg, features artists from an incredible array of genres, from ballads to electronic beats, and hard rock anthems to indie tunes. Jazz, blues, and folk join the diverse mix for good measure. The artists on stage represent some of the best in the business, as evidenced by lineup at this year’s (10th annual) rendition of the festival, which featured Robbie Williams, Zara Larsson, Bastian Baker, The Killers, The Chainsmokers and Paul Kalkbrenner to name a few.
The production design on the 2023 festival’s gigantic main stage also embodied a very diverse range of creative inputs. Defined by two high towers, each with a large vertically oriented video wall at its base, the towers were connected by horizontal rows of lights. Other rows of lights extended from each wall and sloped down to smaller stage left and stage right columns.
This configuration created a suspension bridge type of impression. And what an extraordinary “bridge” it was, changing its appearance as a result of different light patterns and an ever-changing broad mix of intense colors. Indeed, just as virtually no musical genre is excluded from the festival’s lineup, every color imaginable seemed to be incorporated into the brilliant designs that animated the stage.
Contributing to this rich visual panorama was a collection of CHAUVET Professional fixtures supplied and installed by FeedBack Show Systems & Service GmbH, which provided all video, audio, and lighting services on the main stage.
The spectator area around the main stage at this year’s festival was designed to resemble a rock concert arena. FeedBack Show Systems & Service’s rig accentuated this mood with its bold towering lighting displays, abundance of blinders for audience lighting, synchronized pixel mapped effects, and linear lighting arrange to extend the impression of the stage.
Key to helping in this effort were the rig’s 154 Color STRIKE M motorized fixtures. Drawing on the two ultra-bright white tube elements in the center of the fixture, designers ramped up the excitement level with intense strobing and audience lighting.
Designers were also able to call upon the Color STRIKE M’s pixel mappable RGB face to captivate the crowd with a variety of stunning effects. The IP65 rated fixture’s 180-degree tilt added to the range of looks that were created with the powerful unit.
Also adding an extra level of visual depth to the stage were the rig’s 54 COLORado PXL Bar 16 fixtures with their pixel mappable capabilities, vivid color output, wide zoom range, and edge-to-edge mounting that helped tie the entire stage together.
Like the Color STRIKE M, the high output motorized batten COLORado PXL Bar 16 is IP65 rated. That proved to be a good thing, since it rained one day during festival and was very hot overall. The inclement weather didn’t matter much for the 50,000 or so fans in attendance, with the variety of music and engaging looks on stage, there was something for everyone to enjoy.
Further information from CHAUVET Professional: www.chauvetprofessional.com
