The distinctive scenic element was made more impactful by a bold lighting displa (SWD Photography)
Belgium - To the ancient Greeks and Romans, the owl was a symbol of the goddess Athena, and as such the nocturnal bird became associated with wisdom. For fans attending the 2018 Fantasia Festival however, the avian sage took on a whole new meaning - one centred around EDM, trance and house music from the likes of DVBBS and Henri PFR.
Commanding instant attention from the main stage of the festival was a 30m tall by 70m wide representation of a spread-winged owl. The distinctive scenic element was made even more impactful by a bold and vivid lighting display designed by Creative Rental Solutions (CRS) that featured a collection of Chauvet Professional STRIKE, Rogue, COLORado and COLORdash fixtures.
Thomas Vandekerkhove and his team at CRS used an artfully blended mix of STRIKE P38, COLORdash Par H12IP, Rogue RH1 Hybrid and COLORado Panel Q40 fixtures to lend a vibrant personality and sense of movement to the giant scenic bird.
"It was a huge challenge to illuminate the large bird with the logo of Fantasia Festival," comments Vandekerkhove. "After much deliberation we decided upon installing the STRIKE P38 fixtures in the head and wings to highlight the contours of the bird and to create some exciting looks."
With a combination of audience blinder and strobe powered by a 90W warm white LED source, the compact, punchy and outdoor-ready STRIKE fixtures provided energetic looks to elevate the EDM DJs taking to the stage.
"We utilized the P38s to full capacity," comments Vandekerkhove. "Not only were the strobe and blinding effects crucial for visual energy, the tungsten emulating warm white effect gave us more of a classic festival feel for a retro house vibe."
To lend warmth and emotion to the owl structure, Vandekerkhove washed it with deeply saturated colours from the COLORdash fixtures that he positioned on top of the owl’s head. "The COLORdash fixtures gave us a compact solution to throw deep hues onto the owl from above," he says. “I love the soft spectrum of deeply saturated colours that the COLORdash can achieve."
Providing a multitude of spectacular aerial effects and eye candy, Vandekerkhove positioned 10 Rogue RH1 Hybrids from truss on the wings. Thanks to layerable eight-facet and six-facet prisms and 330W power source, he was able to award the DJs with necessary energy during the entire festival.
In order to wash the entire wingspan of the owl with colour, Vandekerkhove and his team specified 10 COLORado Panel Q40 panel fixtures.
(Jim Evans)

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