Belgian
lighting designer Carlo Zaenan of QBE created another amazing live show in
Benelux – it’s all happening there – using a rig that included 256 Robe moving
lights – the 2016 leg of the ‘Symphonica in Rosso’ concerts, six performances
presented by Dutch superstar singer Marco Borsato at Amsterdam’s 17,000
capacity Ziggo Dome.
This
followed another six shows – all 12 completely sold out – in October 2015 at
the same venue, which was transformed into a giant theatre space to present the
concept.
Carlo has
worked with Borsato since 1999 and since 2011 has been his regular LD and
lighting operator. To develop the visual treatment for the 2015/16 Symphonica
in Rosso, he worked closely with set designer Anne-Mari Ahola and Marcel de
Vré, Borsato’s long term show designer as well as the video crew from Visual
Solutions and content creator Tom van Gestel from Fabrique Fantastique. Once
the set plans were approved by the artist, Carlo started creating the lighting
design.
The full
size orchestra was positioned on four balconies each side of the stage, all
with the fronts clad in LED panels. Borsato’s regular band were centre-stage
between the balconies and upstage of them was a central LED wall that split into
five columns that both tracked side to side and flew up and down individually
in an automation system.
A guitar
shaped thrust stage was also covered in video and worked with a Blacktrax
system that tracked Borsato and triggered pre-programmed video graphics as he
moved across the thrust stage floor. Two long continuous strips of video
circled around the whole audience area and met up with the balcony fronts to
complete a 360 degree loop and there were also left and right IMAG screens.
With this
massive amount of video, the lighting was kept simple and straightforward, but Carlo
needed it to have maximum impact and that’s why he chose 40 x Robe BMFL Spots,
59 x Pointes, 58 x MMX WashBeams, 46 x LEDWash 300s and 53 x CycFX 8s, all
delivered by Ampco-Flashlight NL.
The BMFL
Spots were hung on 8 upstage / downstage orientated trusses above the stage and
used to create BIG monster stage looks and general audience scenes. In some of
the moodier songs, they were used as dramatic single backlights for Borsato and
the other performers.
The
Pointes were used in multiple positions.
Fifteen
of them were mounted on the five moving LED columns and utilized for
all-encompassing stage looks while the screens were in their different configuration. Thirty-two Pointes were mounted on stage left and right trusses used for
fillers and to augment the big BMFL looks, with another 12 Pointes on the stage
deck to complete this montage of beams.
The CycFX
8s were used to light a massive curtain covering the full width of the venue
right at the back. For some numbers they were used as a backlight ‘roof’ above
the band and orchestra.
The LEDWash
300s were spread out on each balcony level and onstage to create a nice even
wash across the orchestra and band, allowing them to be visible neatly without
front light.
The MMX
WashBeams had two primary positions, 42 were on the eight over-stage trusses
working in unison with the BMFLs, woven into the stage and audience washes and
looks. Eighteen were rigged on side trusses together with the Pointes to create
a filler for the stage and double up as an alternative audience wash as
required.
All these
Robe fixtures were specified by Carlo for their multi-functionality.
He thinks
it’s a “great advantage” to be able to use them in numerous different ways, and
to have plenty of scope for creating a totally different look for each song –
of which there were 31 in the set!
Reliability
and precision are keys to choosing the right lights, “If you have only three
lights backlighting – say three artists – none of them can be out of colour,
focus or alignment. With Robes, I know I can get this repeatedly”.
He thinks
Robe’s colour mixing systems are excellent – fast for the up-temp numbers and
smooth and elegant for the slower material.
On the BMFL
Spots he simply “Likes everything!”
“The BMFL
does everything you can possibly demand from a spot and is very stable”. The
Pointes he reckons “are absolutely great for their light weight and wide range
of functions”.
He appreciated
features like the zoom, the static and rotating gobos, the prisms and the near
infinite diversity that using the Pointes brings to any stage environment.
The
LEDWash 300s were perfect in this case as powerful and compact units rigged on
the orchestra balconies, illuminating the musicians and the band.
Carlo likes
MMX WashBeams for creating big stage washes and also for distinctive gobo
effects even though they are washes! The CycFX he has found great for throwing
light onto large surfaces, with the tilt feature bringing a completely
different dynamic.
All the Robes
and the other show lighting were controlled via a grandMA2 light console with
another running in full tracking backup. The show was programmed and operated
by Leon Driessen from Cuecre8ion.
“The most
challenging aspects of crafting these shows,” says Carlo, “was creating the
right ambience for each song – going from making the venue into one massive
party vibe one minute, to closing it right down to be personal and intimate the
next just by firing up that one fixture that you need!”
“You may
have hundreds of fixtures in the place, but you don’t have to use them all the
time less is more”.
Carlo has
been using Robe fixtures in his work since 2012 and now believes Robe is in “a leading
position” as a manufacturer, and strengthening that constantly and consistently.
Others
involved in the Symphonica in Rosso shows included lighting crew chief Pascal
Vergeer, the crew from Ampco Flashlight and Jo Pauly from Visual Solutions who ran
the d3 media server running the playback video. The production manager was Piet
Winten from MundoMatic. Faber AV supplied the LED walls and camera package,
Stage Brothers the décor and Stageco NL the staging.
http://www.robe.cz
Photos : Loe Beerens (taken at the 2015
series of SIR concerts)
