Robe assists Kontrafakt to enter new era

Show designer and director Martin Hruska wanted to create an ambitious, breathtakingly visual and memorable performance space for Slovak rap group Kontrafakt to deliver their highly anticipated “New Era” concerts at Prague’s O2 Arena in the Czech capital, a challenge achieved with the assistance of nearly 200 Robe moving lights and a spectacular automated stage set.

The Robe fixtures, a mix of 51 x FORTES, 24 x MegaPointes, 57 x Pointes, 44 x Tetra2 LED moving battens and 10 x Tetra1s and three BMFL FollowSpots.

Lighting was programmed and run for the show by lighting designer Lukáš Patzenhauer, who joined a highly talented team of creatives led by Martin.

One of the best‐known designers in the Czech Republic, Martin had a blank and proposed a multi layered stage set with a ground‐based section that was shaped like Kontrafakt’s interesting and asymmetric signature symbol with two crosses. This went right out into the audience so he could get close to his fans. Above this, was a 14 metre long by 10‐metre‐wide flown catwalk that could fly in and out at strategic points in the show.

Ministry Rental was confirmed as the lighting, audio, and LED screen supplier early on, and both Martin and Lukas were therefore very happy to work with their Robe moving lights. Ministry has one of the largest rental inventories of Robe in central Europe.

“I am a big fan of Robe,” stated Martin, “As a Czech – obviously – I am proud to see the company being so innovative and becoming established as a leading global brand with a great reputation and an amazing selection of products.” The Robe fixtures were all chosen for their “power, flexibility and appropriateness to the show and the dramaturgy,” noted Martin, who was joined on the project by design assistant, Michal Szozda.

When adding the final details to the lighting rig, Martin included 3 x BMFL FollowSpots on the front truss (flanked either side by the six FORTES also on this truss position) for quality and uniform front spotting everywhere around the performance space. These were running on a 3‐way RoboSpot system with the three BaseStations located backstage.

“Good key lighting was absolutely essential to make this show work, and using BMFLs and the RoboSpot system made this work brilliantly,” declared Martin. For Martin, the choice of FORTES was “natural” as he thinks Robe’s current most powerful moving light is “a great and super‐bright multifunctional light” and therefore perfect for this show. He also notes how well “all of these Robe fixtures from the Tetras to the FORTES” work well and harmoniously together, commenting on aspects like colour mixing.

In addition to the moving runway, the nine trusses and two lighting pods (upstage left and right) rigged with 144 PAR 64s; a 14 x 10 metre cross set piece loaded with lights any pyro – also used as an artist transportation and entrance/ exit platform; plus the upstage LED screen … were all rigged on 48 axes of Kinesys motors / automation. Martin carefully choreographed multiple set moves into the show.

The automation operator was Kosma Szostak, owner of Showstak from Poland which supplied all these related elements of the show technology, and other companies contributing to the event included T‐Servis, Black Stages, Flash Barandow, CS live and Alunad stages. As show designer, Martin also commissioned the video content that was delivered by Jan Turek of Signal Generator.

www.robe.cz

Photo © Petr Klapper