Entertainment engineering
specialists WIcreations has supplied several automation elements to help
Belgian superstar rockers Clouseau ramp-up the drama and fun for their biennial
end-of-year spectacular shows at the 20,000 capacity Antwerp Sportpaleis venue.
The band is in the middle of playing
four sold-out shows that started in December and conclude in January –
following an extensive theatre tour ongoing through most of the year to support
their innovative and popular “Clouseau Danst” (Clouseau Dances) album.
WIcreations is collaborating closely
with the show design team from Painting with Light to create some fantastic WOW
Factors for the Sportpaleis shows.
These include a moving bridge in
the middle of the audience with a 360 degree rotating arm which rises and
cantilevers 15 metres across the audience, allowing Clouseau’s charismatic lead
singer Koen Wauters to travel just above the heads of the audience to the C and
D stage areas.
Twenty-seven of WI’s 800 Kg zero
speed BGV-C1 hoists are used to automate five large triangular shaped video
pods and six moving trusses above the stage.
The first two shows were
incredibly well received. WI’s project manager Hans Willems commented, “We are
really proud to be involved in these Clouseau Danst shows. The band always puts
in a huge effort and wants the highest production values, so the goal for all
involved on creative and technical fronts is to produce a special and entertaining
experience that will long be remembered by the fans”.
The 15 metre moving bridge appears
in the second half of the marathon show, which features 34 Clouseau hits and
favourites – old and new – and lasts over three hours, all delivered with the
same pulsating energy and power from start to finish.
The bridge rises up on hydraulic
rams, complete with automated handrail making it performance safe, connecting
the main catwalk coming out from the stage to the first of three ‘B’ stage
areas out in the audience.
This allows band members to get
right amongst the crowds, something in which Koen engages extensively
throughout the set, and particularly during this highly interactive and
immersive dance orientated show.
Keeping the special effects layers
coming, a ballasted cantilevered rotating arm then rises out of the bridge
mechanism with a platform on the end, allowing Koen to travel – at approximately
a metre a second – in a full 360 degree circle just above the delighted
audience.
The hydraulic arm also allows band
members to be deposited on and collected from the two other performance areas –
C and D stages – in the middle of the arena.
The bridge / hydraulic arm system is
supplied by WI complete with fully redundant battery powered hydraulics for
backup. “As with all WI products, safety and backup is absolutely paramount,”
emphasised Hans.
Onstage, 15 of the WI 800Kg zero
speed BGV-C1 hoists automate the five video pods above the upstage area – each
flown on three motors and moved subtly into a series of different positions
throughout the show. This enabled the show design team led by Luc Peumans of
Painting with Light to change the architecture and shape of the stage space as
the set progresses.
Moving the pods could close it
down for the moodier numbers and open it up for the rock-out moments, all helping
to keep things dynamic and fresh, with the audience anticipating what might
happen next.
An additional 12 of the same WI
800Kg zero speed BGV-C1 hoists – which can move smoothly and seamlessly up to
12 metres a minute thanks to the custom WI controller – are used to move six lighting
trusses between the video pods, helping keep the action fluid and looking varied.
The automation cues – for the
motors, the bridge and the hydraulic mast – are carefully choreographed into
the show – and run via a WI custom controller operated by Chris Das who is
joined on site by WI automation technician, Patrik Mangleschots.
The automation products on these
shows, including the bridge with rotating arm, are all available ‘off the
shelf’ from WI as rental items from their Heist-op-den-Berg HQ. WI has
developed a full range that can be combined in different ways to offer
excellent value and multiple options for all types of shows and events.
Supplying these Clouseau shows is
also a landmark in WIcreations’ history. Celebrating 10 years of business in
2016, Clouseau was the very first client for Hans when he founded the company
in 2006!
“They are fantastic to work with” enthuses
Hans, “Always prepared to be innovative and try new and different ideas! We are
pleased to work with Clouseau and the others who make us rise to the challenges
and turn some very ambitious requests into reality – safely and practically!
http://www.wicreations.com
Photos : Louise Stickland
