Legendary Croatian rock band Prljavo Kazalište recently played a
sold-out concert at the prestigious Pula Arena – a historical landmark only
made available for performances to a handful of selected artists – and this
gave their regular Lighting Designer Sven Ku?ini? the chance to use Robe
Pointes and MMX Spots to great effect.
Zagreb based Sven, the MD of Croatian rental and production company
LumiLas LLC had a completely open brief for the lighting and stage design which
also included the video concept. He wanted to make the arena look modern and
high tech for the occasion, whilst also retaining a heritage feel to the show
as appropriate to the surroundings.
The magnificent Arena is the only remaining Roman
amphitheater to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural
orders completely preserved. It was constructed in the first century AD
during the reign of Emperor Vespasian and is
among the six largest surviving Roman arenas in the world and a rare example
among the 200 Roman amphitheaters which still stand today, in addition to being
the best preserved ancient monument in
Croatia.
Being highly atmospheric and having such a special ambience the venue
effectively brings a natural scenography to the picture that can be created
just by illuminating the walls.
Sven decided to take advantage of the superior optics of 24 x Pointes
and 24 x MMX Spots to create the necessary visual impact for the performance
which were supplied by Zagreb lighting company ELDRA, which has recently
invested in Pointes.
The stage was below an 18 x 12 metre roof system, with sub-hung lighting
trusses. The Pointes were rigged between five large onstage LED screens, and
were not used until later in the show to maximise their WOW factors!
The 24 x MMX Spots were positioned on over-stage trusses and on the
stage deck. They were used as the show’s primary profile / spot fixtures and
also for wash effects. “The MMX is so powerful and versatile that I needed to
spec only 12 wash lights on the entire rig … because I knew it could easily
‘cover’ when it came to extra wash,” said Sven.
The Pointes were the main effects lights of the show, and “Excelled”
once again. He enthused, “The beam is incredible … paired with a logical gobo
wheel and prism selection, it is simply phenominal … there is no fixture to
beat it!”
He admits that he fell in love with the Pointes whist working on a show
about a year ago and has been singing their praises at every opportunity since!
In a little technical irony he details that with the Pointes being so
lightweight – and so fast to install – they actually had to add steel weights
to the ladders as counterbalance, something that most ‘standard’ fixtures would
have provided through their bulkiness!
The get-in and out times at the Arena were extremely tight as it’s open
to the public as a point of historical and cultural interest The pressure was
on not to disrupt its working life and so he programmed the show overnight
using two M6 consoles.
The following evening the packed audience all enjoyed some great rock
music and a fantastic lightshow!
