Croatian rockers Parni Valjak were the first in Croatia to benefit from Robe’s new MegaPointe luminaires, as part of a batch just purchased by technical production company Promo Logistika; with 22 Robe fixtures utilised for the lighting rig, designed by Miro Hrg for a gig at the 18,000 capacity Zagreb Arena.
Hrg’s design was all Robe in the moving light department. He also utilised 20 BMFL Spots onstage plus another 2 at the back of the arena for follow spots, together with 12 LEDWash 600s and 8 MMX WashBeams. Also brand new from Robe in the Promo Logistika rental inventory were 16 LEDBeam 150s positioned in the stage wings to illuminate audience in front of the corner areas and also fire across those at the front of the arena. Hrg designed lighting, video and set for this one off, the 5th such gig the band have performed this year. He also chose the playback video content, which was created by Kristina Bengez and Viktor Krasnić.
The over-stage lighting was rigged on 12 upstage/downstage orientated ‘finger’ trusses flown in an arch together with some large scenic flats which were projected onto and framed the stage. Upstage, there was a large 4.8mm LED screen, which worked with 2 left and right portrait format IMAG screens. There were 18 MegaPointes hung on these trusses, together with the 20 BMFL Spots, and the remaining 4 MegaPointes were on a front truss and used mainly for gobo-washing the set pieces and scenic parts of the backdrop for the first part of the show.
For the rest of the show they were used as spot fixtures working in unison with the BMFLs rather than as effects lighting, which was primarily down to the limited programming time.
When he originally saw the MegaPointe demo, Hrg was “amazed with the brightness and the quality of light – it’s clearly a very classy fixture! But on this show they were used very subtly.”
The concert was divided into 2 sections. The evening started with acoustic and stripped back versions of 15 of Parni Valjak’s classics, and then transitioned into the rock section. Hrg has worked as their visual designer for 6 years and now uses Robe in his work whenever possible. He was delighted to be the first LD in Croatia to get his hands on the MegaPointes. “New technology is always a great buzz” he said.
Normally the band is comprised of around 7 musicians, but for this show they added a string section, percussion and a saxophonist, so there were more positions to cover than normal. This was dealt with well by the LEDWash 600s on the finger trusses as the base cover in conjunction with the MMX WashBeams on the front truss providing key lighting.
Hrg programmed and ran lighting on a MA Lighting grandMA2 console. His biggest challenge was getting everything show-ready in such a short time, a task for which he and the rest of the Promo Logistika crew worked tirelessly. He started using Robe products regularly when Promo Logistika first invested in BMFLs 3 years ago. “We needed something powerful, especially with all the outdoor shows here in the summer season,” he commented.
That initial purchase was a great success and was soon followed by further purchases of Robe fixtures, including: MMX WashBeams, CycFX 4s, CycFX 8s, LEDWash 600s and VIVA CMYs for the smaller corporate shows. They are now one of the largest Robe rental houses in Croatia with over 400 luminaires available, and MegaPointes and LEDBeam 150s being the latest purchase.
“We need quality devices” Hrg explained, “The market is changing. 5 years ago, it was less important which kit you had in terms of brands for a rental company, but now that’s changed and clients expect to see the best quality equipment on their events.”