Dynamic French rapper Dinos played a special high-profile one-off gig at Paris’s Accor Arena to celebrate the launch of his latest studio album, Hiver à Paris. For his first show at this prestigious venue, lighting designer Damien Dufaitre from BlackMoon Design created a unique environment with 90 x Robe MegaPointes.
Damien, who has been working with Dinos for some time now, wanted to create a series of tableaux that were lively and provocative, but also raw and elegant, at a fast pace that matched the essence of Dinos’ music. “It was all about showcasing him and his music,” he confirms.
He proposed an in-the-round concept with a central rectangular stage, covered in a video floor representing “a path of light”, like the way runways are sometimes used in fashion shows. Above this was a 4-sided ‘crown’ of 18 x 4 metre blow-through LED mimicking the similar 18 metre wide by 7 metre deep stage dimensions below.
Video content for the floor and the upper surface was created by BlackMoon working with another digital studio, The Vandals, with all collateral commissioned and carefully curated by Damien, who developed lighting and video in tandem. The stage was deliberately stripped back and bare, reflecting the video and the general aesthetic and mood of the artist’s world. When it came to lighting, he needed brightness and impact, so MegaPointe was an obvious choice as a key element of the rig.
The MegaPointes, supplied along with the rest of the lighting and technical production by DuShow, were positioned around the top of the screen trusses and the floor of the stage, framing the show from two very different perspectives.
More were also rigged on structures high above the screens that were invisible to the audience to preserve the pure and stark look of the stage that was central to the show.
MegaPointes were chosen for their blistering intensity, excellent beams, and multiple features for creating effects and enhancing the depth of the performance space. Brightness and punch were essential to the specific lighting and video combination look that Damien crafted to define the show.
A row of 15 MegaPointes were positioned above the centre of the stage on a bridge and used for shooting beams out and around the arena and audience, as well as for close work and tight beams directly above Dinos and his guests. These same fixtures were also used for interplay with the semi-transparent top video screens.
In addition to commissioning the playback video content, Damien worked with camera director Clément Chabaut on integrating the live camera feeds with the playback media, especially for ‘dressing’ and texturing the video surfaces, when all sources had to be consistent and coherent.
Damien commented, “Robe fixtures feature on virtually all my designs! They are reliable, robust, precise, and available in quantity from many suppliers in France. When I want quality of light and fast movement … they are a fantastic choice!”
Tight beams were important for this show as the fixtures were relatively close together and Damien needed to be able to shape the space immediately around the stage.
Lighting equipment for the show was supplied and installed by leading French rental company DuShow, with video provided by Alabama Media. Flames, pyro, and plenty of other impressive visual effects helped keep the show moving. Smoke or a “curtain” of sparks were used as visual trickery to reveal surprise guest entrances and conceal their exits, and facilitate Dinos’ own theatrically magic exit at the end of the show.
“It was a great achievement in terms of visual integration and teamwork by all levels of the production,” noted Damien. “I think we all enjoyed dealing with the challenges, solutions and processes in imagining some great results for the artist and the audience to appreciate and enjoy.”
Working alongside Damien at FOH was programmer Ugo Culetto, also from BlackMoon Design. DuShow’s lighting crew were Etienne Stoll, Brice Bennabi, Romain Barrey and Jean Christophe Rachesboeuf; the DuShow project manager was Régis Nguyen, and the overall production was co-ordinated and organised by Noueva Productions / Live Nation.
About BlackMoon Design: The lighting, visual design and scenography creative studio was founded in 2018 by Damien Dufaitre to offer fresh and innovative ideas to a diversity of performance clients and artists as well as a full production service from conception to completion. The company uses high-performance technological tools and works collaboratively building teams with the best, most experienced and appropriate practitioners to realise the individual project.
The studio will also co-ordinate all the technical elements of a project if required, ensuring the smooth and seamless delivery of all visual aspects related to the show, event, or presentation. BlackMoon has no borders, working extensively across France and all around the world. (blackmoon-design.fr)
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