Robe iESPRITE LTLs on Slovenian Winter Concert

	Robe luminaires made up 85% of the rig, used for all the main stage lighting, supported by strobes, blinders, and other effects lights. Photo: Luka Kotnik

Winter Fairytale was a popular large-scale production performed by the Ansambel Sasa Avsenika musical ensemble at Ljubljana, Slovenia's Stozice Arena. It was the first live music show in Slovenia to feature Robe iESPRITE LTL moving lights, newly purchased by rental company Intralite.

Lighting designer Crt Birsa, of Blackout Lighting Design, added the iESPRITE LTLs to the rig for the Slovenian traditional folk music show. It was programmed and operated by his Blackout colleague Anze Trstenjak. Birsa also designed the stage set with Greta Godnic.

The Robe rig included 16 FORTES, 30 MegaPointes, 24 Pointes, 24 LEDBeam150s, 24 ParFects, 57 Spiider LED wash beams, and eight MMX WashBeams, the latter used to highlight the audience.

Trstenjak has worked on most of the group's latest concerts in recent years -- they are super popular in Austria and Germany as well as Slovenia, so he brought continuity to the table while Crt brought his vast experience of designing and shaping arena and stadium shows.

Godnic's set design was 95.1' wide. She and Birsa wanted the environment to be interesting and innovative, but the Winter Fairytale theme also denoted something soft and warm, so she chose to riff on the idea of circles. She also suggested having a 32.8' central round screen after persuading the artists that a larger one would not have the same visual impact. Sixty-four rigging points later, the design began emerging.

When Birsa drew up the initial plot, Intralite's Ales Pirman wasn't 100% sure the LTLs would be delivered in time, but in his enthusiasm, the designer put them on the plot anyway, with 12 prominent on the center circle in the roof and the other 12 on the four short trusses left and right of the screen.

"I was actually shocked by how bright they are, even compared to the standard FORTE, so we were pleasantly surprised at that," Trstenjak says. "The quality is great, as you'd expect, and they are nice and fast." He used the LTLs extensively for backlighting of the band, orchestra, and choir, often at full intensity.

The 16 FORTES were deployed in appropriate locations around the stage. Over 40 trees were incorporated into the stage set and backlit with three FORTES per side on the floor. One FORTE was positioned at the back of the stairs, and five were on the mid truss, for back lighting, with the balance on the front and delay trusses for key lighting.

The 24 Pointes were rigged in the central circle and on the half circles left and right, and all the circular trusses were toned by a combination of 24 ParFects and other LED PARS. ParFect is one of only a few fixtures that can be squeezed into 11.8" truss.

The LEDBeam150s were on the floor around the stage, used both for general show light and to provide some low-level backlight for the band, their small size making them suitable for the task.

The Spiiders were dotted all around the trusses and circles, with the front ones utilized as primary front light for the orchestra and choir, and the rear fixtures serving as the main stage wash lights.

The MegaPointes were along the sides, complementing the back truss Spiiders.

Two BMFL WashBeams, fitted with LightMaster handles, were used for manual followspots left and right of house in the usual sports camera positions.

Robe luminaires made up 85% of the rig, used for all the main stage lighting, supported by strobes, blinders, and other effects lights.

The Blackout team, including Trstenjak, came in one day before the show day and worked a full-on 18-hour shift through the setup, with one night of on-site programming; however, by this time, they had completed a significant amount of previsualization. The main challenge was dealing with the visual trickery of the curves and circles, a time-consuming and meticulous task that could not be rushed or bypassed. Once on-site, each individual light had to be updated with its final positional adjustments.

Birsa appreciates how Robe builds modes for fixtures with smartly written channel lists, etc., so he never has any issues when morphing modes: "Consistency is really important, and with Robe you always know what you are getting and expecting, which makes working on high-density show schedules very smooth."