Russian Lighting Designer Marina Larikova dubbed Claypaky fixtures as ‘the best creative devices’ after using 125 of the leading Italian brand’s moving heads and strobes in her lighting design for cutting-edge electronic dance music (EDM) festival Alfa Future People, Russia.
With global audiences of 50,000, the two-day festival celebrates the latest in EDM and consumer technology. Larikova worked with Video Designer Yury Vorontsov and Set Designer Shlyamin Pavel to bring alive the festival’s nine-storey high main stage. A giant female cyborg set piece complete with heart-shaped DJ booth provided the focal point of the main stage, where world famous DJs Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike played headline sets.
“I needed versatile lighting tools to maintain a diverse range of looks and keep the audience absorbed in the performances,” said Larikova. “Alfa Future People celebrates innovation, love and the future. The rig needed to be state-of-the-art and high-tech to reflect this ethos, whilst able to produce beat-perfect visuals that would keep up with the music and translate both well on camera and also in situ.”
Larikova realised her high-impact design through a mix of 22 SuperSharpys, 40 Stormys and 73 Sharpys supplied by Russian rental house Light Logic. The design was a result of painstaking pre-programming and visualisation techniques that resulted in an almost two-day non-stop acid-test accurate show that had audiences stunned.
Larikova rigged 22 SuperSharpys of the fixtures along the highest vertical of the stage’s rig. Using the fixtures’ 24 / 28 DMX 512 control channels and advanced programming features, Larikova created architectural light shows that extended the length and breadth of the festival’s main stage. Narrowing the fixtures’ 0° to 4° adjustable beam angle, Larikova was able to intersperse the SuperSharpy beam underneath those of the show’s lasers to create looks that reached right over the audience.
“Claypaky products are undoubtedly the best devices for creating punchy, scenic lighting designs,” said Larikova. “They possess a great brightness of beam which is needed when working with large amounts of space and LED video display.”
Larikova rigged 40 Claypaky Stormys, the brand’s cutting-edge LED strobe, in formation behind the stage’s 18 giant LED screens. The Stormy’s high-end technology allowed Larikova complete control of the frequency, duration and intensity of the fixtures pulse meaning she could integrate the light with the music, video and set in a way that unified the elements. Larikova commented: “The Stormy unit has great colour mixing, bright halftone and an incredibly fast strobe so it can create some great effects.” As well as having to find fixtures that were high output and versatile, durability was another key factor for Larikova.
Held in the countryside surrounding the Russian town of Bolshoye Kolzino Alfa Future People’s open-air setting held some challenges. “One of the biggest concerns was the extremes of weather and temperature we experience here,” said Larikova. “The festival is held in an outside environment and one moment it can be raining and the next extremely hot. We needed devices that were weather-proof and that would not over-heat in the afternoon sun as temperatures can rise to 33°C!”
Larikova selected the Claypaky Sharpy – a sturdy, lightweight fixture that offers exceptional weatherproof functionality through the addition of the Claypaky Igloo, a tough UV-resistant transparent polycarbonate dome. The Sharpy’s in-built cooling system meant that Larikova was able to confidently use the fixture both day and night without pressing concerns of the fixture’s overheating.
“Claypaky products are hugely reliably in difficult weather conditions,” said Larikova. “This durability coupled with the brand’s drive for innovation and versatility means Claypaky fixtures will be lighting the way for designers for generations to come.”
Alfa Future People is one of Russia’s largest music festivals. This year’s headliners included world famous DJs Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso, Armin van Buuren, Martin Garrix, W&W, Lost Frequencies, Brennan Heart and Infected Mushroom. This year’s festival was held between the 22 and 24 July.