Italy – This year, Claypaky once again played host to the students enrolled in the Master in Lighting Design and LED Technology, organised by the Polytechnic University of Milan. This course has long been devoted to nurturing the talents of aspiring young lighting professionals.
The course aims to equip them with the skills they need for diverse applications such as entertainment venues, interior architecture, urban landscapes, museum exhibitions and temporary installations and residential spaces. The curriculum focuses on the analysis and synthesis of lighting design methods, covering conception, organisation, and rigging.
Among the esteemed instructors who teach on the course is Giovanni Pinna, a renowned lighting designer in Italy, known for his work with artists like Vasco Rossi. Pinna runs the Lighting Design for Entertainment module, which includes practical workshops hosted by entertainment industry partners. This year, besides the expertise contributed by Alberico D'Amato, Alessandro Colangelo, and Marco Zucchinali, Claypaky also provided the venue - the Teatro Sociale in Bergamo.
This historic theatre, which opened its doors in 1809, was commissioned and built for the Bergamascan nobility, and was used right up until the 1920s. It mainly hosted art exhibitions and displays from 1974 to 2006, when it was decided to begin restoration work, jointly undertaken by the City Council and the Italian Ministry of Culture.
Giovanni Pinna conducted a session of the course in this classic setting, attended by around 30 promising young lighting designers. During the workshop, Pinna explained programming techniques for lighting shows in detail, using an extensive rig consisting of Claypaky lights.
Pinna remarked: “It was an opportunity for my students to gain real experience in a real venue with professional products, in a captivating setting. Only the Polytechnic University's master syllabus offers real-life lighting programming experience in a theatre.
“The day-long session was dedicated to understanding the entire creative process behind crafting a light show, from listening to the song and writing the cue list, to dealing with the stage and transforming creativity, ideas, personality and taste into reality. It was a truly special experience for all the students, who fully appreciated the opportunity Claypaky had given them to get first-hand experience of an unknown world to them.”
