Lighting designer Miro Hrg from top Croatian rental company Promo Logistika chose
Robe BMFL Spots, CycFX8s, LEDWash 600s and MMX WashBeams to light the main
conference plenary session for the Microsoft WinDays 2017 conference, staged at the
Valamar Rubin Hotel in the beautiful historical city of Poreč in Istria.
The four-day event comprised a series of lectures, seminars, networking and
interactive sessions aimed at Windows developers and administrators and involved
two locations – the Rubin Hotel just outside the city centre and at the Valamar
Isabella Island Resort on the picturesque Island of Saint Nicolas in Poreč Harbour.
It was the second year running that Miro has designed set and lighting for the
WinDays event’s main conference room. The client was extremely happy with last
year’s results and this year raised the bar on the production values.
The set design was inspired by Microsoft’s famous coloured windows and other graphic
elements like logos and document icons. The central projection screen was in the
shape of a hand holding a tablet, reflecting the mobile nature of information
consumption.
Miro wanted to create drama and interest for the session, rather than just have a
plain white conference set up. This was his starting point for the design, which was
based on a series of cloth-covered scenic panels and he also had to light for a short
performance piece delivered by well-known laser artist, Theo Dari.
The room has a white ceiling and walls, so it is a tricky environment to light if you are
trying to be neat and discreet. Therefore, Miro took the opposite approach.
He needed to ensure a good balance between the video projection for the
presentations and lighting, and in keeping with the colourful and lively feel of the
Windows logo, a neat, strong and definite way of lighting the panels.
For the panels he hit on the idea of utilising 40 x Robe CycFX 8 units, some built into
the bases of the various set panels and others positioned on the floor just below as
some of the panels were raised off the ground. All of these threw an even wash up the
panel surfaces which seamlessly change colour.
“CycFX 8s are the only products that can do the job smoothly and evenly,’ he
commented adding that they looked extremely elegant when positioned – as if they
were part of the set frames.
“The zoom and tilt functionality makes focusing very easy,’ he observes. Utilising the
zoom helped fill the differently sized cloths perfectly.
The 12 x LEDWashes were distributed on three overhead trusses and were used to
back-light the audience in various colours, with four units reserved for front lighting.
Miro likes the zoom, and he can get a very nice 5600K white from them which is great
for cameras.
Two delay screens left and right of the hall were installed for IMAG camera relay to
the back of the venue.
The 14 x MMX WashBeams were used in Beam mode with six rigged on two over-
stage trusses helping create some attractive signature looks for the event. Four were
on the floor and another six on the front truss.
The 12 x BMFL Spots were a bit of a piece de resistance. This is where Miro had the
foresight to see that a few rock “n’ roll moments could help energise everyone in the
room. Four were located on the floor behind the main speaker podium and central
screen, with the rest dotted around the trusses. In addition, they were used
extensively for environmental lighting of the space.
Being a white surface, some clever application of colour and gobos meant he could
cover all of the walls – right to the back – with some interesting looks, bringing a more
artistic approach to a conference plenary session.
Four Robe MiniMe’s projected patterns and the Word new file icon onto the delay
screens, the video input fed via a Resolume Arena media server and the pan/tilt
functions run from the lighting console.
Promo Logisitca also supplied technical production to the other WinDays 17 sites
around the town and on the island.
The company is based in Zagreb and has a large Robe rental inventory which they
love because it’s reliable, a major consideration for any busy rental company and
constantly popular.
Miro has worked at the company full-time for eight years and is also LD for Croatian
rockers Parni Valjak. He has been using Robe regularly in designs for the last three
years, specifically since the launch of the BMFL. Promo Logistika was the first
company in Croatia to purchase BMFLs, with MMX WashBeams and CycFX 8s also
purchased in that first batch of fixtures, which have been followed by further
investments, all delivered via Robe’s Croatian distributor, Pula based LAV Studio.
