Robe energises Valmar at Budapest Arena
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It was the band’s largest concert to date, and the brief was to create a memorable lighting design that met the occasion and thrilled everyone involved, from the artist and his production team to his enthusiastic and ever-growing fanbase.
Máté and Ale utilised over 150 Robe moving lights – a combination of iFORTES, Pointes and Tarrantulas – to help energise the show.
Their starting point for lighting the show was the production design idea from show director Roland Mák who imagined the stage as a gigantic time machine, with the concert designed as a two-hour gameplay session hosted by an AI character lurking on the outer IMAG screens.
The game involved performers and the audience completing various challenges and moving up to the next levels, and the 96 x Pointes on the lighting rig were an integral part of this gameplay visualisation.
Máté, Ale, Roland and choreographer Sándor Kurucz all worked closely on realising this concept. The set, video and lighting designs were all based around Roland’s vision which Máté drew proportionally into the arena's own 3D model.
A V-shaped structure – the largest part on an automation system – was central to the aesthetic, flown above a runway coming off the stage, enabling over 40 lights to be moving above the audience during the show.
The LED wall setup followed Roland's time machine, with an LED floor providing gameplay visuals with instructions and cards appearing on it for the performers. The AI character alternated with a live mix on the two IMAG screens, and the time machine interface also appeared on these same screens.
The rear V-shaped main screen mainly featured textures and more informal background gameplay visuals.
Máté, Ale and Roland all agreed at the outset that beam style fixtures should play a major role in filling the space and emphasising key moments of the game narrative. “It was important to choose a multifunctional light, with weight also a crucial factor due to the additional dynamics of the largest V-truss, which moved throughout the show,” explained Máté. Wanting a lighter, more compact but very bright fixture, they looked at Pointe.
“Pointes in this quantity are always impressive,” says Máté, so he and Ale were delighted when rental company Light Positive could provide such a large quantity.
The 96 x Pointes were at the very essence of the show, and used extensively during the choruses where Máté notes, “The speed was beneficial, especially for the faster and rockier songs in the set list, allowing us to create high-impact effects with this number of lights!”
The 18 x iFORTEs were rigged on the rear trusses and kicked in beautifully as powerful back beams and effects, with the 40 x Tarrantulas lining both sides of the catwalk on 20-metre straight trusses flown directly above. The Tarrantulas were used for washing the stage and the catwalk.
The show’s video content was produced by Kata Kertész and her team. Lasers and MDG atmosphere were supplied by Prolaser Kft, with automation and stage motion by E-Motion Technologies.
