Since recent reviews of the Nerdland Festival in Wachtebeke, building on the enthusiasm of nerds of all ages, were universally positive, it was decided a spectacular show at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp would be next. Featuring captivating presentations on scientific wonders, and a captivating visual spectacle, the “Nerdland for Small Nerds” show provided entertainment for young and old alike. A significant contribution to the visual aspect of the show was the vivid and dynamic lighting design by Yann Windey that made use of 68 CHAUVET Professional fixtures supplied by Splendit.
“For the past few years, I have been closely involved creatively and technically with projects by Working Class Heroes, so this was a project I looked forward to working on,” said Windey, owner of WNDY. “The hosts of the session in the Lotto Arena, Lieven Scheire and Hetty Helsmoortel, bring a great deal of energy and genuine enthusiasm to the program, so we tried to reflect that attitude in our lighting.
“Pre-made content was created for the LED screens, so it was essential that we matched them in terms of colors and overall look,” continued Windey. “We found that a mix of warm and cool palettes, combined with different accent colors worked best, taking into consideration practical considerations as well. For example, the ‘football robots’ could not function properly under overly bright blue or red light. We had to balance the lighting carefully to meet the technical requirements of the equipment. No one wanted to see the robot featured in the event drive off the stage because it couldn’t see the field properly!”
In addition to making things clear to football robots, Windey had to ensure that the hosts and personalities on stage were readily visible to members of the audience, since this was a sure way to capture and hold the interest of young people. To do this, he relied on his eight Maverick MK2 Profile fixtures.
“The profiles were very effective in key lighting for both the main talent, Hetty and Lieven, as well as all the guest acts and band members,” he said. “These fixtures were extremely flexible, which was very important, since the group would sometimes appear across the entire stage and yet still need to be spotlighted from a close range. The MK2 Profile was the perfect choice for this task.”
Also contributing to the sense of engagement were the rig’s nine COLORado Batten Q15 fixtures, which were used to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. These units also served as footlights. Meanwhile, creating captivating looks from multiple directions were 14 Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures, which were positioned above the video screens as well as on the stage deck. At times, Windey sent gobos from these fixtures out to the audience to strengthen their connection to the young crowd.
Rounding out the rig were 16 Maverick MK2 Washes, five COLORado Panel Q40 units used around the band setup on the C stage, and 16 STRIKE 1 fixtures.
Speaking of the latter, Windey noted “The STRIKE 1s were the most logical tools for achieving our goal of accentuating a wide range of effects, such as powerful canon shots and flames. They generated a lot of excitement!”
There were, as Windey pointed out, many “thrilling and exciting moments” during the arena show. Of course, that, is the nature of science for “nerds” of all ages.
