Portugal – the creative manager of the agency Newtonlab, Lucio Ferreira, designed and developed the creative idea/guidelines for the world launch of the Pirelli’s new high performance tyre range, on the roads of Portugal and at the historic Estoril racing circuit.
Newtonlab developed all the architectural solutions needed to organize the interior spaces together with its creative manager: the reception, meeting, conference, lounge, exhibition and product presentation show areas. It was a début in grand style, which required a great technical effort.
Newtonlab gave the task of illuminating the various areas assigned to guests and international press representatives to lighting designer Giovanni Pinna, who also designed the lighting for the amazing show that took place. Clay Paky’s Sharpy lights performed like true stars on this occasion.
“The audience arrived, aboard three helicopters, at the foot of a black cube built in the middle of the elegant, austere installation.”
It was designed and built specifically for the occasion, and one of the areas was devoted to a truly amazing show. The corporate programme of the convention and the show itself, which started with a dance number, were held inside this black tensile-structure cube.
“At the end of four minutes of skilful, elegant dance movements, and fast, controlled light, the enormous LED screen backdrop was lifted by an automated motorized system to reveal the race circuit and three cars, the real stars of the event:” a Pagani Huayra BC, a McLaren 570S and an extra special Lamborghini Aventador Pirelli Edition, especially made to celebrate Pirelli and Lamborghini’s long-standing exclusive partnership.
“The three sports cars performed a ‘dance’ on the circuit consisting of drifts, exciting accelerations, squealing tyres and rhythmic music, with a wall of light: fifty Sharpys, with strobe and other lighting effects.”
The drivers worked with the spectacular, powerful (both indoors and out) Sharpys for ten days: “briefing, tests and trials, until the right balance was found. Driving in a sea of blinding light was not easy.”
While the interior spaces were illuminated in an elegant, simple way, the main aim of the lighting design outdoors was to create two fantastic minutes with great fire-power and bright, saturated colours. “We covered a 100/110-degree field of view. Wherever the audience was sitting in the theatre, they were not able to see the end of the lights in front of them, 50 metres (55 yards) from the theatre itself: a very long stretch of circuit, crammed with Sharpy lights and other effects.”
The Sharpy is really quite a simple light, able to create very exciting effects, especially when its beam is highly focused and aligned. “It was the first time I used so many Sharpys in a line so close together (1.25 m / 1.37 yards apart) in other words fifty Sharpys in 70 metres (76.5 yards), all on the ground: a really impressive arrangement of beams.”
Lighting service company: MUSICAL BOX.