Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

Strasbourg Cathedral lit with Chauvet

Can the captivating spell of rhythm be unleashed without music? The answer is yes. Those who walked down the Place de la Cathédrale in Strasbourg, France, during a recent three-day festival, were reminded of this each night when they passed the six-century-old Strasbourg Cathedral. The towering (32.6 meter high) church enchanted with its intimate flow of colors and movement that played out on its surface.

The emotions aroused by the building’s visual dance was done without music, as the city elected not to map the cathedral’s lighting. For Daniel Knipper, the designer who created this panorama, working without music was, in many respects, a liberating thing: “It enabled me to find a freedom of rhythm, and therefore to propose pauses that really allow the facade to be seen in way that is impossible in a 12-minute mapped show.”

“The main idea was for the Cathedral to become part of the evening’s daily routine, no longer the object of a spectacular moment, but rather to share a moment of intimacy with the passer-by, who was no longer pressed into the crowd”, he adds. Knipper used 24 Chauvet Professional Ovation Rêve E-3 IP LED ellipsoidals in his transformative design. The full-spectrum color-mixing fixtures, which were supplied by Xeos, were hung on two porticos that flanked the facade, ten units on each side. This arrangement allowed Knipper to highlight the architectural details of the facade by creating gobos based on digital photos.

“This was a form of ‘analog mapping’, as a friend of mine put it”, says Knipper. “The rest of the front lighting was made up of high-powered moving heads.” Animation was provided by Eurométropôle. “Most of the light was distributed over the building’s balconies and interiors”, continues Knipper. “As the project was to highlight Strasbourg Cathedral, my idea was to work across the street with a minimum of structure and a minimum of floor space.”

The Ovation Rêve E-3 IP was selected for its role in the project after considerable evaluation. “I wanted to achieve a good quality projected image, with a good distribution of light. I also wanted to work with a product that would allow me to mix colors with the rest of the installation, while respecting the illuminated surface”, says Knipper. “I was looking for an IP-rated LED alternative. There wasn’t much choice on the market. I had previously tested five or six LED ellipsoidals at Agence Culturelle Grand Est in Sélestat to establish a comparison. My test criteria were first and foremost the mechanical and optical quality of the device. The Rêve E-3s passed these tests without a hitch.”

Then, especially important was the Ovation Rêve E-3’s color rendering capabilities “The quality of the colors generated, especially the yellows, was very important”, says Knipper. “The tests were carried out on a full-scale. The cathedral is built in pink sandstone, which makes it challenging to manage in terms of synthesis between color and the highly absorbent material. Finally, there is the question of light output. The 140 m point was excellent in all tests.”

Once again, this year, the illuminated Cathedral welcomed Strasbourgeois and visitors alike in its dreamlike suit of light. For Knipper, the planning and effort put into this project was well worth it. There was, as he puts it, “a touching benevolence” at the cathedral as people stopped for a long moment gaze at the building. They stood near the lighting console, which was set up in the middle of the street.

(Photos: Daniel Knipper)

www.chauvetprofessional.com

© 1999 - 2024 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories