Robe Esprites make live debut at AMF
- Details
The production design for AMF - with 40,000 visitors and high-energy sets from David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Alesso, Don Diablo, Timmy Trumpet and many more - was created by Maarten Hoogland from organiser ALDA, who is also the overall production manager and Andre Beekmans from creative visual design practice, The Art of Light.
The look featured a series of ‘crosses’ and other large geometrically-shaped video pieces flown 360 degrees round the 40,000 capacity (for this event) Ajax stadium, and involved approximately 1000 lighting fixtures. Around half of these were Robe, supplied by a combination of Flashlight (the over-stage fixtures) and The Purple Group (lighting around the ArenA).
Andre and his team at The Art of Light have lit AMF from the very first edition in 2013, and in this time the show has developed a signature lighting design which is used as a base, with different variations and ideas introduced to make each year’s set up distinctive and different.
The centre of the arena was filled with eight long trusses (lengthways orientated) which were sub-hung with 40 x shorter moving trusses on 80 Cyberhoist axes, all rigged with lights. These flew in and out at strategic moments through the event.
“The idea was to create a massive nightclub atmosphere in a stadium,” explained Maarten, “for which we needed to be able to close the space right down and make it feel intimate at times, whilst still providing all the wow factors expected by an AMF audience in a stadium.”
Always keen to use new technology, Andre was delighted to have the opportunity of integrating the 38 Esprites into the design. They were deployed on the perimeter trusses around the edges of the arena and used as effects spotlights and for back and side light onto and into the audience.
“The Esprite is a very a complete and powerful spot,” comments Andre afterwards.
He frequently specifies Robe for his various projects and enjoyed weaving Robe’s latest LED moving light - launched only last month - into the bold, vibrant lighting scheme.
For AMF’s beam fixtures - essential for any dance / electronic event - 72 Robe Pointes were rigged over the stage / DJ booth area and worked together with another 240 beam moving lights which were rigged out in the arena.
For wash lights, Andre spec’d a combination of Robe Spiiders - with 224 on the plot - and their larger LED wash product, Tarrantula. The Tarrantulas were used for potent rear lighting onstage, with some Spiiders in the over-stage trusses and the majority spread out across the lengthy audience trusses.
One hundred and eight Robe LEDBeam 150s were positioned all around the perimeter truss, their remarkable brightness for the tiny size of the unit holding its own. The lighting control was grandMA.
Video content was created and delivered by EyeSupply with the LED screens and video hardware from Pixelscreen and audio was supplied by Purple Group, Jari van Leerdam from Backbone was the technical production manager with an eye on all the tech disciplines, working closely with Maarten.
(Jim Evans)
