Queen's Day, or Koninginnedag, is an official holiday throughout the country to commemorate national pride and the royal house. Celebrations begin on the evening of 29 April for the Queen's official birthday. The party continues to 30 April with most cities and towns holding street parties and erecting stages in the town square for live music and other performances. During the last few years AVL Concept has been responsible for the technical side of the Koninginnedag event in the city of Groningen.
AVL Concept was the first customer in the world to buy the new Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 700. This young company based in Leek, the Netherlands, specialises in the design, supply and installation of audiovisual and lighting equipment.
After the first few weeks of early planning, preparation and design, AVL got the assignment to present a preliminary proposal and design for the entire event. This proposal would not only demonstrate the knowhow, but also include the delivery of all the necessary technology, facilities, technical crew and associated support, all to make it as easy as possible for the client.
AVL lighting designer and project manager Jesper Schelling was responsible for the planning and management of the communication between the various parties, including bands, artists and the government. AVL Concept provided and supported technically, among other things, the Prolyte MPT roof, lighting, sound, barriers and dressing rooms.
For lighting, Schelling chose the Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 700 and the Alpha Beam 700. He explained, "Last year we made a large investment in these fixtures. The lights from the Alpha series are very suitable for the type of events that AVL facilitates. These lights are very easy to position and their colour mixing is very precise. The gobos distinguish themselves qualitatively and tangibly from other moving lights. The lamps are superb to handle and easily applicable to a wide variety of different types of events. With these lights, every show looks fascinating and spectacular."
The trusses were fixed lengthwise and a roof was created between these. The lamps were then attached to the lattice created by the trusses in reverse. Edgewise, the trusses were deliberately affixed lower than the central ones in order to create more fill-light.
Pre-production in wysiwyg gave both the crew as well as the client a clear vision in advance of the end result.
Schelling continues, "A Pearl Expert, fitted out with the newest version of Titan software, was utilized to control the whole production. This was a deliberate choice to facilitate quick and easy usage of the table by guest technicians. Avolite offers an extra advantage: it gives a clear overview of your presets and fixtures."
Throughout the project, Schelling maintained close contact with Clay Paky, having visited the factory in Bergamo several times. "Their support was fantastic. The Queen's Day shows looked amazing and the client was extremely happy."
(Jim Evans)
