SHOW:ME, the biggest fashion show in the world, recently celebrated its world premiere in front of about two thousand guests at the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin. The production has cost well over nine million euros and the show boasts some impressive features: the legendary Parisian Haute Couture Designer Christian Lacroix has created the costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies, and there is a twenty-one metre high waterfall on the stage, where 40 female and 20 male dancers perform (the largest dance company in the world). Over 125,000 tickets have already been booked for the show.
The show’s lighting set-up is equally impressive and mostly includes equipment from Lightpower. Ten Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500s and 14 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 300s have been used, among other lights.
After “Yma” in 2010 and “Berlin ERLEUCHTET” in 2011, Marcus Krömer is again in charge of the lighting design for SHOW:ME. Krömer explained: “For the first time in ten years we are using a grandMA2 desk at Friedrichstadt-Palast for this show, along with the grandMA ‘series 1’. Basically the lighting and video are split. The lighting is handled on a grandMA2 full-size and the video on a grandMA2 light. The lighting includes all the spotlights and moving heads, and all the illuminated architectural elements, LED strips and arches. In addition to this, there are 36 radio controlled LED fitted costumes, split into six groups of six. We control about eight thousand parameters in total.”
“After our positive experience with the three Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500s at Yma in 2010, we have added another six to light the exhibition area, which is divided into the main stage and proscenium. However we also use the existing equipment right up to the Clay Paky Stage Scans, which we have been carrying around for some years and continue to use effectively.”
“Other strengths are the integration of the room into the set, and the so-called self-illuminated arches on the stage,” says Krömer. “For this purpose, light strips called ‘ribbons’ have been installed in the room, on which we have mounted the iColor Flex SL lamps already found at the Friedrichstadt-Palast. The arches on the stage have been equipped with iColor Cove MXs.”
The staff consists of Andreas Stübler (assistant lighting designer), Olaf Eichler (project manager and lighting director), Birger Krause (programmer and operator), Tom Mommert and Martin Wagner (operators), Andreas Stübler (assistant head of lighting), Martin Wagner (video and LED operator) and Michael Preuß (gaffer). Norbert Zimmermann and Andreas Kästel are in charge of projections. Ragnar Storch is the laser operator and programmer. The lighting technicians are Karsten Kliehm, Michael Brunn, Bernd Hofmann, Martin Röger, Uwe Erdmann, Karsten Springmann, Hartmut Lißner, Vanessa Weinert and Felix Lemke.