Flexibility is a valuable attribute, not only in a lighting rig, but also in the designer who creates it. Cevin Richter offered convincing proof of that this August at the M’era Luna alternative music festival in Hildesheim, Germany.
Tasked with lighting “The Disco Hangar,” a large space within the two-day festival (it takes place in a former airbase), Richter had to create looks that supported a diverse range of artists and speakers on stage, including DJ performances, jam-packed warm up and after parties, a fashion show, and readings by an eclectic group of authors, including mystery and horror writers, as well as a noted criminologist describing case histories.
“We equipped and supervised the Disco Hangar with rigging, stage, sound, light and video,” said Richter “This not only included the disco with DJs on Friday and Saturday nights, but also the Academy, readings, and fashion shows.”
Adding to the challenge of designing for so many different applications was the relatively short lead-in time the design team had to prepare for this project. They got the order on very short notice and the statics of the hall left little room for maneuvering. So, efficiency was of paramount importance, according to Richter.
“When I received the order, I quickly started building it roughly in 3D, and began doing the first programming,” said Richter. “The aim was to have a setup that not only fit the difficult situation of the statics in the hall, but could also be run easily by an external operator to create varied looks.”
The design team was able to use the flexible rig to conjure up an array of looks, ranging from the complex and sophisticated for the fashion show, to brooding gothics, to dynamic disco party displays. Helping them meet this challenge was a collection of over 40 Chauvet Professional fixtures. Included in this mix were 16 Rogue R2 Spots and 12 of the new Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash units, as well as 12 COLORado Panel Q40 and two Ovation F-145WW Fresnel fixtures.
“We were very fortunate that the Chauvet team got us the new Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash just in time for this project,” said Richter. “This unit did a great job for us. The spots and the beam washes were distributed alternately. So, we had seven Rogue R2 Spots and six Rogue Outcast BeamWashes in the traverses. The five other BeamWash units were deployed in the fashion show, which featured the project’s most complex design.
“Due to the statics, the position of the traverse in the hall was predetermined,” Richter added. “The party design was all about creating room-filling images. However, the fashion show on Saturday afternoon was a bit more involved. The artists were also illuminated from below with the COLORado Panel Q40. We had the light trusses run parallel to the catwalk, each 22m long and symmetrically equipped. So, I used two of the Rouge R2 Spots, which were positioned at the very back, for a fairly flat front light. In addition, the Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash was perfect as an alley light, which came steeply from above with zoom optics that were extremely fast.”
Although the Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash arrived “late in the process,” Richter was able to weave it quickly into his rig, demonstrating again why it is so important for a designer to be flexible and adaptable to sudden changes.
