Lighting designer Crt Birsa of Blackout Lighting Design had the honour of adding the iESPRITE LTLs to the rig for the Slovenian traditional folk music show, for which lighting was programmed and operated by his Blackout colleague Anže Trstenjak. Crt also designed the stage set together with Greta Godnic.

The 24 x iESPRITE LTLs were a part of an impressive Robe moving light rig. In addition to them were 16 x FORTES, 30 x MegaPointes, 24 x Pointes, 24 x LEDBeam150s, 24 x ParFects, 57 x Spiider LED wash beams and 8 x MMX WashBeams, a classic Robe favourite of Crt’s (before MegaPointe, ESPRITE and FORTE) that he often includes, and in this case, they were highlighting the audience.

The event is a new show concept, and this was the first time it had played in an arena. The first Winter Fairytale gig had taken place a year before in a much smaller venue, so this substantial step up also required a requisite jump in production scale and value.

Anže had worked on most of the group’s latest concerts in recent years – they are super popular in Austria and Germany as well as Slovenia, so he brought continuity to the table while Crt brought his vast experience of designing and shaping arena and stadium shows.

Greta’s set design was 29 metres wide, so wider than is standard for the venue, and this brought an essential sense of presence. She and Crt wanted the environment to be interesting, different and innovative, but the ‘Winter Fairytale’ theme also denoted something soft and warm, so Greta wanted to riff on the idea of circles.

Crt – well known for incorporating architectural shapes into stage designs – immediately set to work on this, which is how the series of interlocking circles and semi-circles evolved. He and Greta also suggested having a 10-metre central round screen after persuading the artists that a larger one would not have the same visual impact.

Sixty-four rigging points later – a lot for Slovenia – this masterpiece of stagecraft began emerging.

One challenge was to find angled truss connectors to create all the circles onto which Anže and Crt then placed all the lights. Using a combination of art and mathematics, they calculated optimal positioning from an architectural standpoint and also how the luminaires could work most flexibly.

When Crt drew up the initial plot, Intralite’s Ales Pirman wasn’t 100% sure the LTLs would be delivered in time, but in his enthusiasm, Crt put them on the plot anyway, with 12 prominent on the centre circle in the roof and the other 12 on the 4 short trusses left and right of the screen.

When Anže was pre-vizzing, they were also not exactly certain how bright they would be in the venue, but as soon as they were fired up, he knew that ‘extremely bright’ was the answer!

“I was actually shocked by how bright they are even compared to the standard FORTE, so we were pleasantly surprised at that. The quality is great, as you’d expect, and they are nice and fast.”

He used the iESPRITE LTLs extensively for back lighting of the band, orchestra, and choir, often at full intensity.

The 16 x FORTES were deployed in appropriate locations around the stage. Over 40 trees were incorporated into the stage set and backlit with 3 x FORTES per side on the floor. One FORTE was positioned at the back of the stairs and five were on the mid truss, perfect for back lighting, with the balance on the front and delay trusses for key lighting.

The 24 x Pointes were rigged in the central circle and on the half circles left and right … and all the circular trusses were toned by a combination of 24 ParFects and other LED PARS. ParFect is one of only a few fixtures that can be squeezed into 30 cm truss.

The LEDBeam150s were on the floor around the stage, used both as general show light and provide some low-level back light for the band – their small size making them ideal for the task.

The Spiiders were dotted all around the trusses and circles with the front ones utilised as primary front light for the orchestra and choir, with the rear fixtures serving as the main stage wash lights.

The MegaPointes were along the sides, complementing the back truss Spiiders.

Two BMFL WashBeams fitted with LightMaster handles were used for manual follow spots left and right of house in the usual sports camera positions.

Robe luminaires made up 85% of the rig and the fixtures were used for all the main stage lighting, supported by a bunch of strobes, blinders, and other effects lights.

The Blackout team, including Anže, came in one day before the show day and worked a full-on 18-hour shift through the setup, with one night of onsite programming; however, by this time, they had completed a serious amount of previsualisation, which was key to delivering such a slick and impressive show with so little onsite time.

The main challenge was dealing with the visual trickery of the curves and circles – a very time-consuming and meticulous task that could not be rushed or bypassed. Once on site, each individual light had to be updated with its final positional adjustments.

The show lasted over 2 hours and needed to keep moving and developing visually for the whole duration, capturing all the power and emotions of the moment, and making sure that this energy was felt by every audience member.

Crt appreciates how Robe builds modes for fixtures with smartly written channel lists, etc., so he never has any issues when morphing modes: “Consistency is really important and with Robe you always know what you are getting and expecting, which makes working on high-density show schedules very smooth.”

Anže concluded with a thank you to all the team at Intralite, who are “hard working and great to collaborate with,” and he notes that the company is always thinking ahead and prepared to consider investing in quality kit.

All photo credits to Luka Kotnik and Zan Zajec