Germany – A massive rig of almost 900 Clay Paky fixtures has been utilised to track and illuminate a fleet of BMW’s latest car designs for a series of dynamic and fast-paced shows held during the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013.
The ambitious lighting production – headed by Martin Kuhn and Berlin’s NIYU media project – utilised an incredible array of Clay Paky’s latest fixtures, including 115 Alpha Wash 1500s, 24 Alpha Spot 1500s, 25 Alpha Profile 1500s, 18 Alpha Beam 1500s, 28 Sharpys, 8 Sharpys Washes, 131 QWO 800 STs, 28 Alpha Wash 700s, and 504 A.leda Wash K10s.
One main requirement for the lighting design was to be able to dynamically highlight the cars driving around the track. The 504 K10s multicolour RGBW LEDs delivered a full range of vivid colours as well as excellent shades of white. Equipped with a motorised and fully controllable 14°-70° – the fixtures were placed at equal distances around BMW’s specially built 274m long driving track.
The K10s followed the curved path of the road on both sides, mounted on specially bent steel pipes. 131 Clay Paky QWO spots were placed on a central axis above the track further complemented by 56 Clay Paky 700 and 1500 Washlights. The latter were used to highlight various positions along the track, mainly around the two stages.
“We were very happy with the choice of Clay Paky by Production Company Lleyendecker as having one brand of moving lights made the programming easier and colour and dimming consistency across the range was much better than having to deal with different brands,” says Martin Kuhn. “The K10s worked well tightly focused on the track and the cars. The fixtures’ smooth dimming curve and the big zoom range helped, as the distance from the rig to the track varied between 3.5 and 9m. We used a tracking system for the cars that triggered the K10, so there was a lot of very quick changes across the system – sometimes the LED rig had to execute 50 cues per second over its entire length, and we never encountered any problems.”
Many Clay Paky QWO Spots were placed on a central axis above the track, further complemented by Clay Paky 700 and 1500 Washlights. The latter were used to highlight various positions along the track, mainly around the two stages.
“The Clay Paky QWO were used on the track for gobos and general wash alike and the great gobo morphing together with the zoom range was a definite plus,” continues Kuhn. “The Sharpy Washes and Alpha Beams were used mainly for backlighting and effects on the stages.”
All of the Clay Paky fixtures were supplied to the BMW event by Wuppertal, Germany-based Lleyendecker.
BMW rented the entire 14,000 sq. metre Hall 11 at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013 to make an impact exhibiting its new cars – including those from Mini and Rolls Royce – and reveal the new brand of BMWi and new electric models.
The Frankfurt Motor Show is the largest in the world, and is held every two years. The 2013 Show was held in September.