Lighting director Mike Odam's task was to give a spectacular look to the opening ceremony and first performance of the festival, which featured a 60-piece symphony orchestra, 40 piece choir and live 'electric' musicians. Overcoming a range of challenges, Mike and PRG Europe put on a show fit for the high-ranking dignitaries and extensive media attention, which focused on the event.
The first challenge was to make the show "look great". The second major challenge was time. "We should have had four days for focusing and rehearsals, but there was work on the venue which was significantly over-running," said Mike. "As it turned out we only had two nights' preparation." Lighting was provided by the Odeon's permanent rig of ETC Source Fours, Vari*Lite VL3000 and VL1000 units and a WholeHog2 control console, supplemented by 18 Martin Professional Mac 600s, 10 Mac 2000s and eight Mac 500s.
Another challenge arose because of the ancient venue. In order to ensure there was no adverse effect on the venue's stonework, the Greek Architectural Society (GAS) had to approve all equipment well in advance of the event. They did not allow the use of hazers, which meant that the lighting effects were generated by where the light fell, rather than using the beams of light to enhance the visual effect.
Mike overcame this by using the stone backdrop of the Odeon of Herod Atticus as a canvas on which to throw light and used the window apertures behind the stage to house intelligent luminaries. "It was fantastic having the back wall to light," said Mike. "The texture was great to work with and helped to overcome the lack of beams."
The Greek film anniversary was celebrated by archive footage being shown on two large video screens either side of the stage, which were also used to show live footage of the proceedings. The PRG team had to work quickly during the limited rehearsal time, to ensure that the live footage segments were lit brightly enough for the cameras.
Despite the challenges, Mike was pleased with what they managed to achieve. "It's always difficult when time is so compressed that you've got an orchestra trying to rehearse at the same time as you're focusing the lighting," he said. "The shout would come up that they couldn't see, so we had to keep adjusting what we were doing. So under the circumstances I'm very pleased with the results we got - I get on really well with the team and everyone did an extremely good job".
(Jane Cockburn)
