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Jerry Appelt selects Ayrton fixtures for ESC 2018

Jerry Appelt selects Ayrton fixtures for ESC 2018
Jerry Appelt selects Ayrton fixtures for ESC 2018

Lighting designer Jerry Appelt chose more than 700 Ayrton fixtures for his design at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Appelt chose not to incorporate any video element in the show, instead returning to a lighting-based design.

 

With over 2000 fixtures using 300 universes and 150,000 channels, Eurovision is the biggest production in the world and demands the highest production levels. Appelt has lit the ESC extravaganza for three consecutive years.

 

The aesthetic surrounding the deep circular stage of Florian Wieder’s set relied upon the three-dimensional interplay between backlighting, a series of flowing wooden vertical ribs and a back wall of 351 Ayrton MagicPanel FX fixtures rigged on a custom-built aluminium wall, fabricated and installed by Ampco Flashlight.

 

The MagicPanel-FX were used to create a variety of effects that gave bespoke looks for each entry of the 43 countries taking part. This included using the face of the MagicPanel-FX to make starcloth-style twinkles, pixel-mapping effects and run video layers to act as a low resolution video wall, as well as dramatic beam effects through the scenic ribs.

 

Also embedded in the back wall, interspersed among the MagicPanel-FX were 64 Ayrton Mistral-TC LED spot fixtures which were used to create rays of light that emerged from the deep end of the stage through the entire arena.

 

Ninety-six of Ayrton’s newly released MiniPanel FX units - a miniaturised 2x2 configuration of the MagicPanel-FX - were embedded in two rows around the sloping front fascia of the main stage facing the audience.

 

Out in the auditorium, the balcony fronts above the audience were rigged with 112 Ayrton Ghibli luminaires which were used for key lighting. Thirty Ayrton MagicDot SX fixtures outlined the outer edges of the circular downstage catwalks and were introduced to increase the dynamic with mid-air effects.

 

An additional 60 Ayrton NandoBeam S6 fixtures were used in three lines for backlighting the audience in the infield. The Ayrton fixtures were supplied and installed by Ampco Flashlight along with the full lighting, rigging (including the customised backwall), motion control and video package.

 

Project directors Marc van der Wel and Marco de Koff, and senior project manager Ruud Werkhoven worked together with local Portuguese company Pixel Light.

 

(Photos: Ralph Larmann)

 

www.ayrton.eu

 

 

Jerry Appelt selects Ayrton fixtures for ESC 2018Jerry Appelt selects Ayrton fixtures for ESC 2018

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