YPRES, BELGIUM – Looking like a scene from a post-apocalyptic future surrounded by twisted metal and mangled automobile carcasses, the recent setting of the Quest Open Air Scrapyard party was perhaps the ultimate physical manifestation of Nietzsche’s musings that “One must still have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star.”
More details from Chauvet DJ (www.chauvetdj.com):
Pivotal in transforming the chaotic scrapyard surroundings into an unforgettable evening of evocative techno DJ sets and dancing was creative production house Studio Black Star, which utilized 12 CHAUVET DJ Intimidator Wash 450Z IRC and 20 Freedom Par Quad-4 IP fixtures to animate the foreboding rusty metal setting with colorful and lively ambience.
The decision to host the latest party in the scrapyard, which is owned by Degels Metal Recycling, reflected Quest’s ambition to stage underground music events in jarring settings that challenge comfortable assumptions. To highlight this extraordinary location and add to its transcendent effect, Studio Black Star juxtaposed intensely bright, colorful lighting against the site’s old and rusty metallic surroundings.
“We decided to contrast the rusty metal piles of scrap with a full spectrum of saturated color,” commented Sam Spriet of Studio Black Star. “The combination of the colors of the Freedom PAR Quad 4-IP and Intimidator Wash 450Z IRC on the big mountains of scrap were magnificent, and totally succeeded in transforming the otherwise lifeless setting into the ultimate, dynamic backdrop for the industrial DJ sets. All of us at Studio Black Star are thankful to Quest for entrusting us with this exciting project.”
Running the show on a ChamSys MQ60 console, the Studio Black Star team was able to provide saturated colors in even the most awkward, hard-to-reach nooks and crannies thanks to the ultra compact footprint of the battery-powered Freedom Par fixtures. He conveniently slot these lights in between bits of metal to emphasize the guerrilla nature of the event.
“The wireless Freedom PAR Quad 4-IP fixtures were a perfect fit for an open air event of this size thanks to their easy to handle size and lack of unsightly and annoying cabling,” continued Spriet. “Their waterproof IP rating also gave us the confidence we needed to implement our lighting concept outdoors.”
The Chauvet Intimidator Wash 450Z IRC was placed on the container in the middle of the scrapyard where the DJ booth was located. Here, the fixtures were tasked with lightening up the mountains of scrap, in addition to highlighting a crane and a special vehicle on the site that are used to process the metal into big cubes.
“There were spots in the scrap mountain that were harder to reach with the Freedoms,” said Spriet. “Thanks to the powerful 15W Intimidator Wash Zoom 450 IRC however, we were able to highlight dark spots perfectly by exploiting the 7° to 53° zoom range.”
With Studio Black Star’s impressive lighting concept emphasizing the industrial location with a number of colorful looks, Quest’s search for the ultimate party location may well have found the perfect match.
“Adding lights into a scrapyard wasn’t something we’ve done before, but we’re so happy with the delivered result and the outcome of the overall aesthetic,” said Spriet. “As a result, we were able to truly reinforce the reputation of the industrial music genre!”
Photo Credit: Jennifer Kesteleyn Photography
