LOCARNO, SWITZERLAND – Each August for the past 73 years, the Romanesque Piazza Grande is transformed into the world’s largest open air movie theatre. Flanked by exquisitely detailed buildings, the piazza provides an enchanting setting for screenings at the Locarno International Film Festival, a prestigious event that draws the likes of Harrison Ford, Ethan Hawke and other Hollywood A-listers to this ancient town on the Italian-Swiss border.
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Earlier in the summer, this venerable site, which traces its origins back to Roman times, undergoes another transformation, as it’s turned into an urban nightclub for the Connection Festival. For two days in June, the sounds or rap, pop, and electronic music resonate off the pastel walls of its buildings, accompanied by intensely bright light from over 40 CHAUVET Professional Maverick fixtures, supplied and set up by Fumasoli Audio & Lights Rental.
Enrico Fumasoli and his team furnished a complete lighting and audio package for the festival, which featured some of Italy’s hottest new music stars, including Salmo and Ultimo. Their goal was to provide a rig that delivered the power called for by the high-energy music, yet at the same time was flexible enough to adapt to the different styles of visiting LDs.
This led to the selection of 24 Maverick MK2 Wash and 18 Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures. The Maverick units were flown from three truss structures positioned upstage, stage left and stage right. Daniele Pavan and Andrea Arlotti, the lighting designers for the festival’s two headliners, used the MK2 Wash fixtures to create evocative colors that reflected the myriad emotional currents that ran through the festival. They also relied on the washes to intensify dramatic effects by backwashing the performers.
The bright 440W Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures helped to connect the performers to the crowd by providing audience lighting. They also added big looks to the festival with their aerial effects and by bouncing light of the piazza’s classic buildings. Taking advantage of the spot fixtures’ rotating gobo wheels, the LDs projected patterns onto the stage and buildings to enhance the atmosphere.
Fumasoli’s own lighting designer, Gustavo Boetti, along with light techs Diego Gasbarre, Alessandro Borgis, and Patrick Lavorone, arranged the Maverick fixtures to cover the stage from a wide variety of angles. This provided the LDs with more creative options and ensured a continuous flow of new looks throughout the event.
Working in tandem with the sound tech Marco Zaffuto, the Fumasoli team created an immersive environment for the 8,000 fans who crowded into the Piazza Grande, making them and the contemporary music they love seem right at home in this ancient setting.
