For centuries, Trg Rijecke Rezolucije has stood as the “town square,” and cultural hub of this bustling port city in Croatia, hosting events, concerts and rallies. But with the outbreak of COVID-19 and the ensuing ban on public gatherings, the picturesque plaza fell eerily silent.
All that changed recently, when it hosted “All For Our Kids,” an annual charity concert that raises money for the medical care of children. The crowd was small, and people sat 1.5 meters apart in observance of social distancing rules, but music rang out, followed by cheering, laughter and applause at the historic venue for the first time in months.
Supporting the on-stage performances with a rich mix of hues and soft glows that played off against the lemon meringue masonry background of the Municipal Palace, a former Augustinian monastery, was a supple a varied Mateo Kustić MattGarret design powered by his ChamSys QuickQ 20.
A ChamSys user for five years, Mateo, who works for G.I.S. Sound & Light, decided on the compact control console because its size and versatility made it well-suited for this application. “I have been lighting this event for some time,” he said. “This year, we had a small audience, perhaps 150 people, and fewer performers, so a compact console fit my plans nicely. Its small footprint was perfect.”
However, Mateo was not willing to give up performance for the sake of compactness. His 21- piece rig was made up primarily of RGBW fixtures, and changing color gradients was critical to his plan to reflect the varied moods of the show. Being able to achieve precise control of LED color mixing was important to his design plans, as evidenced by the vivid palettes he used to create visual separation between different performers and speakers at the event.
Also essential was the QuickQ 20’s ability to, detect and patch RDM-compliant fixtures using the QuickQ app. “The remote app was one of the most important features to me in this job,” said Mateo. “It made the process go a lot easier, given that we had a small crew because of social distancing. The large screen and simple ways I could scroll and zoom were also helpful.”
When all was said and done the 2020 version of All For Our Kids was not the biggest show in the history of this event. But it raised much needed funds for local children’s hospital, and for the people of Rijeka, it was a hopeful sign that their beloved cultural hub was indeed gradually coming back to life.
