DORTMUND, Germany – On April 30 at the Westfalenhalle music and sports complex, "Mayday" has less to do with an emergency distress signal than with a big annual indoor celebration of electronic music. This year, EBS Lights of Limburg, Germany used more than 150 Martin moving heads and more than 300 fixtures in all for the 23,000 revelers who came to hear 50 top national and international acts perform near four large dance zones. Mario Kommorofski, project leader at EBS, shaped the front lighting as semi-circular elements and the overhead light as a gigantic propeller, completed by circles and side lines. Light circles composed of large "energy spools" floated up and down and back and forth above the crowd, combined with a large energy field behind DJs including Sven Väth, Paul van Dyk, Armin van Buren and Markus Schulz, with lasers adding to the visual energy.
Kommorofski cited the ample assortment of Martin Professional moving heads and strobes in Germany as one factor behind the choice of the fixtures for the event. Other factors included the ability of the fixtures to "look good with their fantastic design" and their ability to be able to "do their job many hours in a row without a breakdown."
The Mayday rig included more than 150 Martin fixtures: 36 MAC III Profiles, 24 MAC 700 Washes, 38 MAC 700 Profiles, 24 MAC 250 Entours, 24 MAC 250 Washes (some were MAC 250 Beam upgrades), 12 Atomic 3000 strobes, 16 Atomics with Atomic Colors scrollers and 24 MAC 401 Dual LED washlights.
"About the MAC III, besides its gobo range and the effect engine, I especially appreciate its brightness and light intensity. This fixture really enlightens your space," Kommorofski said. "On the other hand, with a MAC 250 Beam upgrade kit, you can easily transform a regular MAC 250 Wash into a beamer with a very fine beam. Other advantages are the low cost and reduced weight and also the fast moving head of the MAC 250 Wash. I had a special application for these fixtures."
The MAC 401 Dual LED washlight gave Kommorofski the option of using the fixtures a double washlight or beam reflective mirror.
"I chose the second possibility and spotlighted the mirror side of my MAC 401s with the MAC 250 Beam," Kommorofski said. "In so doing, I was able to alternatively have a fast wash light or a strong profile coming from the same spot in the rig. This, of course, is a fantastic effect by itself, and I didn't need to use some of the other features of the MAC 401 Dual like the individual LED segment control."
CREW
Concept, Design, Management: EBS-lights Veranstaltungstechnik GmbH
Content design: looplight GmbH
Technical management & design: Mario Kommorofski (EBS)
Project assistant: Andreas Schommer (EBS)
Sound management: Tim Ehrenfried (EBS)
Light management: Jan-Philipp Pryss (EBS)
Operator/Light: Benedikt Moser (EBS)
Operator/Video: Matt Finke, Timo Weinhold (LL)
Rigging: Eric Schumacher (EBS) in Zusammenarbeit with Fa. DART
C1 technology/Operator: Sven "Jimmy" Lange (Cyberhoist/RCL)
Stage setting: Markus Hofmann (EBS)
Video technology LED System: Jens Heubach (curveLED/tennagels)
Laser technology: Daniel Brune, Laserfabrik
Organizer: i-Motion GmbH
Photo by Ralph Larmann
For more information, please visit www.martin.com.
