Chauvet Mavericks on Gentse Feesten stage

Belgium - At the end of July every year, two million visitors hit the medieval streets and market squares of Ghent for the annual 10-day Gentse Feesten, a music and arts festival with a 160-year pedigree. One of the central hubs at the festival is to be found at the Sint-Baafsplein square which houses one of the largest stages at the festival. Tasked with designing a lighting concept for the Sint-Baafsplein stage, LD Vince de Schinckel specified 16 x Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Washes, 16 x Maverick MK2 Spots, six STRIKE 4s and two Atmos smoke machines from Belgian rental specialists Euro PA to create stunning looks at the traditional heart of the festival. After testing out the Maverick series earlier in the year, de Schinckel was convinced that the Maverick MK2 Spot and Wash would provide an arsenal of tools with which to create huge looks on the central Sint-Baafsplein stage in complete juxtaposition to the surrounding medieval architecture. "As the Sint-Baafsplein stage is one of the key focal points of the entire festival, it was vital for me to award the stage with big looks and presence," commented de Schinckel. "The Mavericks were instrumental for me to achieve this." Impressed by the output and versatility of the Maverick MK2 Spot, de Schinckel positioned the fixtures above the stage on truss to provide concentrated spot lighting across the entire stage area below. De Schinckel also positioned 16 Maverick Wash fixtures above the stage on truss. "When we tested the Wash, we were completely overwhelmed by the saturation of the colours," commented de Schinckel. "The colour mixing and intensity is in a different class to other fixtures within this budget," continued de Schinckel. "Combined with the Spot, the Wash painted the perfect backdrop on stage and created quite an impressive atmosphere for the festivalgoers." De Schinckel also specified the STRIKE 4 to provide audience blinder for the Sint-Baafsplein stage. "I was a little bit sceptical about an LED blinder," conceded de Schinckel. "But I was quite amazed by the output of the STRIKE. The strength of the blinder was incredible: the entire buildings surrounding the square were illuminated, once again highlighting the contrast between the concert and the old surroundings." A pair of Atmos foggers provided fog effects on stage. "The Atmos function is great from a very low output to fill the stage with a nice fine smoke curtain," he commented. "During DJ sets, for example, the Atmos was able to fill the stage and the whole square with smoke on high output. Amazing decking considering we only had two fixtures!" (Jim Evans)

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