"Imagine the challenge the designing team had when creating an environment of close to 350 moving lights and several dozen conventional units, where the entire lighting rig is hidden behind a roof system where the beams focus through strategically placed openings in the canvas, helping create the elite, clean, and pristine feel that Mercedes Benz is known for," says Fyssicopulos.
"The programming of the booth was done on three grandMA full-size and one grandMA light. Two consoles where at FOH, and the other two consoles, along with the laptops running grandMA on PC, where used as 'mobile stations' for focusing purposes and the press event," he explains. "The booth runs on SMPTE time code generated by the 14-minute video loop played on the main LED screen at the centre of the booth. The lighting complemented the video to create the desired feel and environment as it marked the world premieres of the GLK Vision, the SLK convertible's facelift and the US premiere of the SLR Roadster and chronicled the brand's distinguished history."
TLD devised a modular roof system in which almost 350 Martin moving lights and numerous tungsten fixtures were installed virtual invisibly. By using moving lights the grandMAs could control the overall intensity of the booth, as well as implement very specific elements of the show through colour changes and effects. The light show was triggered frame by frame to the LED wall and innumerable Barco OLite LED elements, which were integrated in the structure of the lamella expanding the LED wall around the viewer. Shifting colour-moods and effects on the lamella changed the spatial perception for the visitor constantly and transferred the content of the video onto the architectural elements of the booth.
The networked grandMA system controlled 20 Vari*Lite VL3500 washes, six Vari*Lite VL3500 spots, 33 x ETC CE Source Four 750W PARs and a high number of Martin moving lights. To integrate the lamella with the production and give it enhanced three-dimensionality, its interior lighting was also controllable: 700 dimmable linear fluorescent luminaires were installed in the separate layers of the lamella.
(Jim Evans)
