The Festival of Lights was cut short to a one-day tribute to the victims of 8 December (photo: Vincent Criulanscy)
France - Four nights of enchantment were planned in December for Lyon's most famous festival to date, broadcasting the heritage of the city. However, due to the recent tragic events in Paris, the Festival of Lights was cut short to a one-day tribute to the victims of 8 December, inviting people to stand united and light candles while the city became illuminated for that one evening at La Colline de Fourvière.

Rental company GL events Audiovisual was tasked as supplier of lighting, while also being an official partner of the light festival. "We were very surprised and honoured to be the only company selected for this year's edition. Both the project and the site has worked wonders in our favour," says project manager Frédéric Fuentes.

Together with lighting designer Daniel Knipper, the two men used solely SGM LED lighting equipment for the show. A mix of 40 x Q-7 combination flood/strobe/blinder and 12 x G-Profile LED framing moving heads, both fixtures being IP65-rated, thus worked in an interaction with PIGI video projectors.

Lighting designer Daniel Knipper explains, "We installed 10 PIGI video projectors for the Palais de Justice. I worked out the lighting concept for chevet de la Cathédrale St Jean, du Jardin de Rosaire and du chevet de la Basilique de Fourvière. These installations allow me to link light and images, controlling and dimming so the light interacts with the projected images. That is how I have been working with the two products from SGM; the Q-7 and the G-Profile."

Daniel Knipper's light show called Regards was the only feature to be maintained as all other activities were postponed to the upcoming 2016 edition. Frédéric Fuentes explains: "The lighting festival 2015 was shortened due to the very sad realities that occurred, and I was asked to change the former concept of four days into one day. Only Daniel Knipper's artwork was maintained in its initial state, because it corresponded to the contemplative perspective. We then chose to add the first names of the victims as projections at the end of the show."

The two lighting professionals were well-satisfied with the results achieved by deploying SGM LED luminaires. "The gain was much more effective compared to previous installations on these buildings," sums up Frédéric Fuentes underlining the great team effort behind this tribute event. "Only team work will allow us to transform an artistic concept into a quality event in an urban environment; each person played an important role in the setup of this event for this very particular happening for this years' edition."

(Jim Evans)


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