Vita Motus, the design studio of Heather Shaw, transformed the Pier 9 Container Terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn into one of the most exciting clubs in the world for just one night. The iconic silhouette of the Absolut vodka bottle took center stage with the New York City skyline illuminated behind it. DJs Alvin Risk and Araabmuzik took command of the music on the stage below and built suspense for a surprise appearance by guest DJ Zedd.
The event, produced by VICE, was part of the innovative Absolut brand campaign, Transform Today, which launched last year. Nights by Absolut staged in Johannesburg, Berlin and Sao Paulo followed.
DMDS7tudios of North Miami Beach worked with Vita Motus and VT Pro Design to bring the custom-rigged, 85-foot tall Absolut silhouette to life with 84 Clay Paky B-EYE K20s and 72 Clay Paky Sharpys.
"The goal for the design team was to bring a very progressive brand like Absolut to the forefront of the technology movement, and there is no other effect or lighting fixture on the market currently that has so many options and so much power as the B-EYE," says Scott Chmielewski, principal of DMDS7tudios, which was brought onto the project as programmers and technology consultants and integrators. The company was charged with programming and implementing the B-EYE lighting effects and pixel mapping the individual LED cells within the fixtures.
"There is literally nothing like the look of the B-EYE out there and, with the fixture's latest software, options have expanded dramatically," notes Chmielewski. "The ability of the B-EYE to change from a very powerful and bright wash light to an effects-filled fixture made it an obvious choice for this project."
He calls the design of Nights by Absolut "nothing short of immersive in both its scale and use of technology. Using a well-scripted and choreographed escalation of the event, each element of the project came to life in dramatic steps showcasing a different use of technology and integrated design."
Chmielewski says there were "no issues with any of the gear" during the pop-up club's unforgettable one-night only event on Pier 9. "Every element of this show performed flawlessly. We were in an exposed outdoor environment with limited access to the fixtures once they were hung, so that's one of the reasons the B-EYEs were chosen. So many options, so few moving parts."
"Scott is such an innovative designer and this project was really impressive," says A.C.T Lighting vice president of sales, Brian Dowd. "DMDS7tudios has been a great partner of ours and we look forward to many more projects of this calibre from them."
Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, added, "This was a very interesting project and we're so glad the B-Eyes were able to delivery everything Scott needed for this. We look forward to working with him again."
(Jim Evans)
