More than 60 Clay Paky Sharpys were perfectly
programmed to create a ‘light orchestra’ which interactively illuminated the
Fraunhofer award ceremony. The incredible achievement recently
won the LD Björn Hermann the OPUS German Stage Award 2016 for innovative stage-
and theatre productions, which was presented during the 2016 Prolight + Sound
show in Frankfurt.
Held at the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden, the theme of the annual event was ‘lighting
creates’, echoing UNESCO’s 2015 International Year of Light. Fraunhofer is
Europe’s largest application-oriented research organization, with research
efforts geared towards health, security, communication, energy and the
environment.
The evening was attended by more than 700 people from politics, science
and industry. Guests of honour included the German President Joachim Gauck and
the Hessian Prime Minister Volker Bouffier.
Together with onliveline – a bureau for concept & staging – lighting
designer Björn Hermann, who has worked on the Fraunhofer award ceremony for
seven years, was challenged with creating a light show that deviated from the
norm and celebrated light in an unusual and eye-catching performance.
“We developed the idea of ??using fixtures as the actors, rigged on
stage as if they were an orchestra,” Hermann explains. “We wrote a storyboard, with the Sharpys
playing the leading role, and then spent a year programming the beams and
movements of each individual fixture, set to a special, developed sound design.
This required accurate, meticulous work to ensure all of the Sharpys worked
together perfectly to create the desired, authentic looks.”
To create the ‘orchestra’, Hermann specified 45x Clay Paky Sharpys, rigged centre stage, and a further 16x Sharpys on stage left and stage right. All of the Sharpys were supplied by PRG AG Germany.
“I chose the Sharpys as I needed a fixture that was fast with perfect optics to create a powerful beam,” Hermann continues. “The exterior of the Sharpy also looks great, which was important as they were the stars of the show.”
During the performance, the Sharpys interacted with the huge video
screen installed on the back wall – when Morse Code was represented with visuals,
the Sharpys mirrored the signals with beams; similar effects were generated using
the Sharpys’ beams to echo Fraunhofer’s spectral lines (named after the German
physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer).
The movements or emotions were versatile: the Sharpys’ beams also
illuminated the beautiful architecture of the hall, evoking emotion with colour,
movement and interaction.
“They were even able to portray a love story,” adds Hermann. “The
Sharpys were programmed to flirt, appear bashful, shy, and fall in love.”
When receiving the award at ProLight+Sound 2016, Hermann thanked Clay
Paky for the products that allowed him to create the Sharpy orchestra piece but
also projects such as the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin
Wall, 25 years of German reunification, lighting up Frankfurt’s bridges and
many more.
