In the real world, there is no such thing as a “perfect venue” for a lighting designer. Every site, regardless of its virtues, presents at least one issue that must be addressed. For example, at The Caverns, part of an 8,000 linear foot underground cave passage located a little over 80 miles south of Nashville, designers like Justin Casey have to contend with a lack of level surfaces.
“Nothing there is level,” Casey, owner of Helm Projects said of the iconic venue. “That’s the first challenge. We have done so many shows at this place, so we know it takes some time and thought to come up with a design that’s right for it — but once you do, it’s well worth it.”
Casey and his team recently created a stunning design for electronica star LSDream’s two-day Rave Cave event at the Cavern that played off the venue’s intricately craggy features to create looks that flowed seamlessly with the captivating vibe of the performances on stage.
Helping Casey and his team realize this vision inside the 1,500-capaacity space (aka The Big Mouth Cave) were 18 CHAUVET Professional COLORado PXL Bar 16 motorised battens. Positioned on the floor in front of the DJ booth and behind it, the RGBW linear fixtures added a geometric quality to the stage that played off well against the features of the cave.
“They were great providing lots of sheets of lights from the ground,” Casey said of the PXL Bar 16s, adding: “On top of that, they also gave us some great backlight looks.”
Also contributing to the geometric dimension of the design was a collection of EPIX Strip fixtures. “They created some sacred geometry shapes,” said Casey. “The vibe of the show was like you uncovered this shape deep down in the cave.”
Complementing the effect of these shapes was the 360-dgee feel created by the Color STRIKE M fixtures that were positioned around the space. These motorized strobe-washes, which like the rest of the rig, was drawn from Helms Projects own inventory, helped to create a “rave vibe,” with their flashing lights and strobing.
“Our entire Helms team deserves all the credit in the world for creating this design, said Casey. “This event came at the end of a long string of B-to-B events, so the determination of our crew was impressive.”
Pulling the team’s entire design together were the transcendent pixel mapped images on the cave’s ceiling. With its bold colour combination, this display projected an otherworldly aura, while many of the images projected evoked a sense traveling back to a long lost time. That was a fitting feeling, since scientists say that this cave was occupied by humans some 25,000 years ago.
Those ancient people are said to have gathered in the cave to escape the heat and seek shelter from the rain. Today, their modern ancestors flock to this spot to FIND something — namely, a mind-expanding experience involving music and light.
