Lithuanian pop superstar Donny Montell has a special live concept: he only plays one big show every year. After “2057” (2022) and “360” (2023), Montell once again chose the Žalgiris Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania, for his 2024 production to offer the 10,000 or so spectators an extraordinary concert experience. Baltic Production Service was once again on board as the overall technical service provider, along with Marfa Lights, which was responsible for the stage, video and lighting design and relied on 350 Cameo lights.
Marfa Lights and Baltic Production Service created a multi-level stage design that combined huge LED surfaces, sophisticated visuals and a diverse lighting set-up to create depth on multiple stage levels. “We arranged the visual elements on the stage in several layers to create an immersive environment,” explains Andrius Stasiulis from Marfa Lights. “A large LED screen in the background, the musicians in front of it, then a transparent LED screen, Donny Montell and the dancers in front of it and, as the foremost level, the interplay between the lighting design and the audience.”
Long PIXBAR lines
Marfa Lights positioned the fixtures at strategic points to emphasize the depth of the stage design and make the visual impact as strong as possible. The team arranged a total of 90 Cameo PIXBAR SMD IP G2 SMD LED bars into two 40-metre-long, continuous horizontal light lines across the entire width of the stage to give it even more structure and depth, with chase and pixel mapping effects synchronized with the video content. “The PIXBARs were one of the central visual components of the show and more than impressed us with their combination of technical precision and creative possibilities,” commented Andrius Stasiulis.
Another eye-catching element was the OPUS H5 beam spot wash hybrid moving heads. These were arranged on both sides of the stage in a large grid formation and framed the set with balanced lighting accents, dynamic beam movements and sharp transitions between individual lighting moods. The OTOS B5 beam moving heads acted as a kind of “bridge” between the stage and the audience. With their enormous light output and flexible beam angles, the OTOS B5s filled the Žalgiris Arena with powerful beams and also ensured that even darker color palettes were clearly visible from all spectator areas. The Cameo moving lights in the lighting design by Marfa Lights are rounded off by eight OPUS X PROFILEs, which were used as powerful and precise side lights to emphasize individual performers or objects on stage in isolation.
3D experience
However, the ZENIT W600 and W300 LED wash lights, which were arranged in a box-shaped structure above the stage, made the biggest contribution to the visibility and illumination of the stage. “In combination with the ultra-wide LED screen, the ZENIT W600 and ZENIT W300 transformed the entire set into a three-dimensional experience,” says Andrius Stasiulis. “It felt like the stage extended into the audience and merged seamlessly with the hall.” To set the scene for the central catwalk, Marfa Lights also placed 24 ZENIT W600 SMDs on the sides of the catwalk, which were operated in full-pixel mode, enabling them to be flexibly synchronized with the stage visuals and audience lighting.
Photos: © Joana Suslavičiūtė
Further information about Cameo: cameolight.com
