Croatian pop singer Petar Grašo completed a trio of sold out high-profile arena shows at the Spaladium Arena in Split, the Roman Arena in Pula and Zagreb Arena with lighting, video and scenography designed by Sven Kučinić.
Lighting Designer Kučinić used Robe as his go-to moving lights whenever possible, for which 24 Robe BMFL Spots, 24 LED Wash 600s and 24 MMX Wash Beams were supplied for 2 of these 3 shows – in Spilt and Zagreb – together with sound, video, trussing and staging by ELDRA. The production supplier for the second show was the IVAS Group and the Robe kit included 20 Pointes, 28 LED Wash 600s, 16 BMFL Spots and 20 CYCFX 8s.
Kučinić has collaborated with Petar Grašo for the last 2 years; given complete creative freedom in coming up with a lighting concept for these gigs. Grašo himself proposed the video concept and the content was created by Dragan Đokić and operated live by VJ Olgierd Kamienski, with Kučinić supervising for the overall colour schemes and aesthetics.
Kučinić’s goal was to ensure the lighting rig was as clean as possible, a look he achieved by arranging the trusses in a stylishly defined arrow shapes. He also wanted to leave enough space for the mid-air effects to stand out without cluttering the overall shape and structural integrity of the trussing shape. The Zagreb show was also recorded for a DVD, so lighting needed to be balanced and lit for this as well as calculated to give the live audience all the dynamics and spectacle they were expecting.
Robe BMFL Spots were the primary hard-edged fixtures and work-horses of the show, positioned on 4 arrow-shaped trusses in ‘power groups’. The LED Wash 600s were rigged alongside the BMFLs as rear lighting and also were ideally positioned to be used as effects fixtures. He thinks the individual LED ring macros – from the original LED Wash – again proved to be “amazing eye-candy” and ideal for pop environments. “CEO Igor Dražić pulled out all the stops to make sure they made it onto the gig,” said Kučinić, impressed with the service and dedication from one of the top Croatian rental specialists.
The Robe MMX Wash Beams have been a favourite of Kučinić’s ever since the luminaire was launched and they are almost a default on his lighting plots when available. They were crucial to giving him the flexibility of balancing between a live pop show and a recording environment. He likes the accurate CMY mixing and the zoom which allow for fine-tuning online or even during the show itself.
While the Robe BMFL Spots needed the have all the impact when in a mid-range zoom to still punch through 60 beam lights and a 100 sq m 4mm pitch video screen, and the BMFLs “excelled” at the task, Kučinić recalled: “This and the fast and precise zoom and the focus tracking are invaluable for quick and effective programming.”
The only other lights on the rig were strobes and blinders. Sven had originally specified Robe Pointes for the beam lights, but they are in such incredible high demand across Croatia and the Balkan regions that none were available for the Zagreb gig. In the middle of the show, Petar Grašo made a surprise appearance on a B-stage out in the audience, for which he was lit with 3 lasers.
He programmed and ran lighting himself with assistance from his LumiLas team mate Juraj Stipetić who, together with Robert Kirša, took care of the lasers. The lighting crew of Josip Knežević, Domagoj Pribanić and Zvonimir Borovac worked hard and long hours to make sure the 18,000 Petar Grašo fans were given a show to remember.