Germany -This summer, the Großer Sendesaal of Hessischer Rundfunk witnessed a special performance. In the Lorenz Foundation’s inclusive dance project Babylon: Miteinander Reden ist Gold, 150 people - professionals and amateurs, people with and without disabilities - took to the stage and demonstrated what can happen when people come together without boundaries: participation for all, enjoyment of art and a strong sense of community.
Working closely together, all those involved created an extraordinary live experience with powerful images and stirring music - supported by the technical team from eCon GmbH and a sound and lighting setup from LD Systems and Cameo.
Babylon: Miteinander Reden ist Gold (talking to one another is golden) tells an old biblical story, adapted to the challenges of modern times: a lack of understanding and dwindling cooperation in times of digitalisation, algorithms, and fake news. The Babylon project responds to these communication problems - under the direction of director and dance teacher Miguel-Angel Zermeño - with universal ‘languages’ that everyone understands: dance, music, and movement.
As the general technical service provider, eCon relied on an LD Systems Maila XXL line array ground stack system for the sound, which offered several advantages in the broadcasting hall.
“The hr-Sendesaal venue is designed like a theatre, with a stage at ground level and raked seating,” explained project manager Moritz Stüve. “At the back, the audience looks down on the stage from above, so we needed a sound system that was as slimline as possible to minimise the visual impact.”
The system also had to be able to cover the elongated space evenly and without the use of delay lines. “Thanks to the large number of compact satellite speakers in the arrays, we achieve excellent coverage in the treble range,” explained Stüve. For the low-frequency range, eCon configured two Maila Subs per side as a cardioid system to achieve a powerful and defined bass for the audience without overloading the stage - with its numerous instrument and vocal microphones - with too much level.
For the powerful production and the dynamic stage action, the team also had to find a lighting setup that offered a lot of creative freedom despite the limited space. The Cameo Azor S2 spot moving head proved to be a compact yet luminous lamp for gobo projections and backlights. The Azor SP2 spot profile moving head was used as the classic front light, which provided more depth on the stage with its integrated aperture sliders. “With the combination of Azor S2 and Azor SP2, we don’t need to worry about colour matching the individual fixtures,” said Stüve.
The Zenit series was also able to demonstrate its wide range in the Babylon project. While the Zenit W600 SMD LED wash lights were impressive both as high-intensity area lights and aisle lights, as well as strobes and effect lights with individual pixel control, the Zenit B200s were used as specialists for the particular requirements of the production.
“As Babylon also features wheelchair users, we are not allowed to lay any power and signalling cables or cable protectors on the stage,” explained Stüve. “For this reason, we always use the battery- and W-DMX-capable Zenit B200 when individual, mobile lighting accents are required in scenes.”
Alexander Pietschmann, CEO of the Adam Hall Group, comments, “So much comes together here that touches our hearts: young people and people with disabilities who produce something great with a lot of creativity and passion. When I was allowed to attend the rehearsals, you could feel this positive energy straight away. We are delighted to enrich this with the latest event technology and make our small contribution to this extraordinary project.”
