Lighting designer Stephen Jolly arranged eight Q-Wash 560Z-LED fixtures provided by Novum AV on either side of the podium, where Olympians and other top gymnasts from throughout the world participated in an array of competitions covering the power horse, rings and floor exercises. Spaced approximately 7m apart, the wash fixtures filled an important dual role during the event, serving as color washes at some points, then working with high output aerial beam effects at other points.
"The Q-Washes enabled us to create some simple colour across the podium, light parts of the arena seating and then bounce colour off the roof of the arena," said Tim Jacques, commercial director of Novum AV. "What made the Q-Washes so well suited for this project was their combination of a wide zoom and tight beam angle. When these fixtures were in a tight - 6° - beam, they did not look out of place at all with the bigger beam fixtures we used for some of our looks. At the same time, the Q-Washes were equally suited for washing the arena in large blocks of colour."
Jacques notes that the light weight of the Q-Wash fixtures also helped during setup at the arena when time was of the essence. "Our time frame was quite tight," he said. "As well as lighting, we also supplied staging, sound, pyro, video and cameras.
"Our entire production kit needed to be rigged within 12 hours," he continued. "There were some 250-plus stage decks being installed at the same time as the load-in, so detailed planning was required from all involved. We controlled our lights with an Avolites Tiger Touch Pro. The whole show was pre-programmed using Polar Capture software, so we walked in with a fully programmed show, which helped things go smoothly."
The production kit also included six Geyser RGB water-based foggers from Chauvet DJ.
"As gymnasts walked in, the Geysers under the stage would fire, as if coloured smoke was appearing from nowhere on the stage," said Jacques. "The Geysers around the floor were used more during the medal ceremonies as the gymnasts took their awards."
(Jim Evans)
