Paladin lights Venetian vertical dancing
- Details
Located in M9, a new urban regeneration district in Venice Mestre, Museo del Novecento, or Museum of the 20th Century, is a place where Italians can rediscover the drama of the previous century to understand how best to build the future. As the innovative and emotionally engaging museum uses multimedia and interactive technology in its storytelling, it was only appropriate that the creative inaugural show was illuminated using an innovative, state-of-the-art luminaire.
Marco Mazzon Sound & Lights, who also served as lighting designers on the project, required a powerful colour wash light that could project up to 20m from the ground with the possibility of varying the zoom angle. Having purchased a number of Paladins from Elation’s Italian distributor Audio Effetti prior to the event, the versatile RGBW luminaire with zoom fit the bill.
The Paladin is multifunctional and can operate as a blinder, strobe or powerful wash light. For the Museo del Novecento opening, its dynamic wash capability was clearly on display with four units used to bathe eight vertical dancers positioned 20m above the ground in a variety of shades. Moreover, because it was important to control and limit the amount of light spill on the façade, the fixtures were equipped with barn doors to better direct the beam.
Not surprisingly, there are special challenges in lighting an outdoor vertical show that takes place at such a height; one is getting enough illumination on the performers while minimizing shadows. Audio Effetti says that Marco Mazzon Sound & Lights have used Paladins on similar projects though to project 30-40 meters so brightness was not a problem. As far as the elements, because setup and fixture mounting occurred the day before the event, waterproof fixtures were an absolute necessity. The Paladin, with its IP65 rating to withstand adverse weather conditions without the need for protective covering, made weather factors a non-issue.
The event came off without a problem and the aerial performers executed their dance to perfection and the delight of the crowd.
(Jim Evans)
