Bologna
Exhibition Centre, Benassi & Friends is a highly anticipated national dance
event. It was conceived and created by Benny Benassi to coincide with the Motor
Show. Benassi is one of the world\’s top fifty best known DJs and has worked
with Madonna, Jovanotti, the Rolling Stones, and Britney Spears. The lighting
designer Jerry R. Romani chose to illuminate the space in hall 36 where the
fourth edition of the event was held using Clay Paky Sharpys and A.LEDA B-EYE
K10, rigged on a hanging structure consisting of straight battens placed at
different heights.
“The
space was huge and the battens were also used to mark out areas adjacent to the
one reserved for the live show, like the dressing room area, the refreshment
area, and the guest area behind the stage, where a lot of DJs were found, like
Albertino, Alex Gaudino, and others.”
There
was a hidden scaffolding passage between the dressing rooms and the stage,
directly to the DJ mixing desk, which is an idea that has been tried and tested
at several major international festivals.
The
lighting designer chose the equipment and the structure for the hanging lights
all by himself, and his choice was strongly influenced by the kind of show and
music the lighting was designed for. A large battery of Sharpys ensured
powerful light, pure colours, concentrated beams, and spectacular geometric and
visual effects.
“The Sharpy
is the perfect light for this DJ\’s music. The quick, controlled movements of
the 36 Sharpys created mid-air sequences of dancing lights synchronized with
the atmospheres and rhythms of the DJ\’s mixed tracks. They are ideal because
their light output makes the concentrated beams and their effects created with
the variable speed rotating prism stand out even with very little smoke in the
room.”
They
are nine times more powerful than their rated output and have a highly
concentrated beam, which may be moved into set positions at set speeds in order
to highlight and liven up the changes in the atmosphere created by the
music.
Besides
being used to create dynamic graphic images of all kinds and being able to call
up an entire library of pre-programmed visual effects, the 28 multicolour
A.LEDA K10s, with individually controllable LEDs, helped flood the room with
bright colours.
