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“Monumental” live event launch for Robe iBolts in France

Robe’s new iBolt made its French debut at a recent “Monumental” event at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Laon Aisne in the Hauts-de-France. “Monumental” is an interactive music and visual live experience concept imagined and presented by DJ, music producer and live experience innovator Michael Canitrot.

He has styled a series of these bespoke performances which are staged in and around some of France’s most striking landmarks. The event’s lighting was designed by Mikael Trochu who specified the six iBolts, rented from Dushow, which were positioned in an arc around the DJ booth.

Trochu worked alongside video mapping designer Jérémie Bellot from AV Extended and lighting and sound supplier Bendelight plus the “Monumental” event technical directors, Martin Javouret and Enguerran de la Chevasnerie. They started with site surveys to establish what was possible, practical, and safe to install in terms of production.

Having previously used Robe fixtures - particularly MegaPointes - on other “Monumental” events, including another show here at this same venue in 2022, Trochu thought it was a perfect opportunity to experiment with the new iBolt which was launched at Prolight + Sound in March this year.

Challenges included complementing the complex video being projected onto the 56-metre-high facade of the building. “Linear consistency is critical when lighting long or tall buildings and for wide-angle photos and video shoots where I can maintain a straight pencil-like effect combined with the video mapping which looks very cool, and it worked like a dream”, says Trochu.

While he would have liked more iBolts for this event to create more of a cage-like effect in front of the artist, the six fixtures achieved the effect “brilliantly and exactly as I envisioned”, as he puts it. He used them in conjunction with fourteen MegaPointes, which were positioned on the ground and on a balcony approximately halfway up the Cathedral’s facade.

During programming, Trochu discovered a quirk that is also a positive feature which occurs when the beam is fully defocused and opened:  it spills around the internal optics creating a hot spot cone at the centre of the open beam - something that Trochu incorporated into the show. “It’s an effect I will definitely be using again”, he states. When discussing it with the Robe team, they acknowledged the idiosyncrasy and are equally intrigued, so it will be staying in the fixture for everyone’s creative benefit.

Trochu also used the iBolts to create splintering beams shooting off in multiple directions as they interacted with concealed mirror balls - an effect that filled the lower parvis of the Cathedral facade with shards of light radiating in every direction to ramp up the drama and energy. The show was run partly from timecode and partly cued manually. Projectors were supplied by Leni (Leader des technologies de l’événementiel).

Trochu also took time to ensure that the iBolt’s 500 W laser light source would not be dipping below 45 degrees, scanning the audience, or getting in anyone’s eyes, especially those sitting on people’s shoulders. Robe’s patented, constantly scanning ScanGuard system instantly reduces the fixture’s output if someone gets within an unsafe viewing distance. The “Monumental” show at Laon Cathedral was experienced live by over 3,000 spectators gathered on the square in front.

(Photos: Geoffrey Hubbel)

www.robe.cz

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