UK - Robe lighting enjoyed “a brilliant PLASA 2024” in London Olympia, tapping into the hustle and energy of the show.
Four new products were launched by the Czechia-based manufacturer – the iForte Fresnel, the Painte Fresnel, the Svopatt and the SVB1 WashBeam moving light, all attracting plenty of interest as Robe continued the celebration of its 30th year.
Robe also premiered its new live exhibition performance extravaganza, The Fifth Dimension complete with three live performers including aerial acrobat and dancer Oskar Skrypko, who caused such a stir at Prolight earlier in the year!
All of Robe’s businesses – Avolites, LSC, Anolis and Artistic Licence – occupied their own areas surrounding the main Robe stand, demonstrating the bi-directional synergies between all of these and capitalising on the buzz and positivity of the expo.
And topping off another amazing PLASA London for Robe, the iBolt – also launched this year – received a coveted PLASA Award for Innovation.
The Fifth Dimension featured some gravity-defying dance moves and acrobatic stunts, complete with a pumping soundtrack and an outstanding visual show containing all the newly launched lighting products together with several others that have been launched throughout 2024.
All elements of this bespoke nine-minute high-action show – design, lighting, video, audio, choreography, SFX, programming and staging – were produced by Robe’s in-house creative team led by Nathan Wan and Andy Webb, delivered with the highest possible production values to show off the new featured products.
For probably the first time ever at a trade show, a combination of trampoline and Chinese Pole acrobatics was used in The Fifth Dimension to enthral crowds every 90 minutes of the show day – a phenom that attracted huge crowds to that end of the expo hall.
Over 200 lighting fixtures – 44 DMX universes and 920 pixels, nearly 1,000 cues – were executed in the show, which was programmed on an Avolites Diamond D9-215 console that ran to timecode.
The newly launched Svopatt fixtures brought some cool looks to The Fifth Dimension from their prominent mid truss positioning, especially when utilising the zoom function on each of the seven individual LEDs per cell plus its central LED strobe chip. These two elements look equally good as stand-alone effects or blended in multiple combinations.
These were joined by 16 new SVB1 fixtures, comprising a single Svopatt cell on a moving head base, which with some sick and nifty programming, looked hugely impressive!
Robe’s T32Cyc units showed their flexibility in tight and challenging-to-access spaces with shallow throw distances, mounted above the printed side panels to the stage, used for key lighting these in close proximity.
Nathan Wan wanted a TetraX feature as part of the show, and this showstopper was built from 28 TetraXs upstage which mesmerised the crowds, silhouetted the performers and produced a barrage of whizzy and mind-boggling effects. They were contrasted with 14 x Tetra2 LED moving battens positioned in the set ‘windows’ sweeping curtains of light across the stage.
Ten PLASA Award-winning iBolts were central on the main rig. Wan wanted to illustrate how these incredibly bright and high-powered fixtures can be seamlessly integrated into indoor shows, as well as being great super-bright searchlights when outside.
35 Robe Paintes in the rig shaped those ‘big-rock show’ moments and hard-edged looks that everyone loves, with SpiiderX wash beams providing stage and set wash coverage, filling the area with quality light.
Several of Robe’s T15 PCs and fresnel luminaires rigged over the stage augmented the top wash positions, together with the just-launched Forte Fresnel, with more T15 PCs and fresnels on side booms which were perfect for shooting across the stage from these essential positions.
Additional floor-based key lighting came from Footsie Slim units deployed along the front of the stage, and LEDBeam 350s were above the trampoline in a U-shape to light Skrypko’s dramatic high-velocity bounces, dives and flying leaps, while four SpiiderXs either side of the trampoline provided cross lighting and pixel eye-candy.
Six MegaPointes were positioned in front of the LEDBeam 350s also above the trampoline – a nod to vintage Robe.
Every available centimetre of space on the booth was utilised expediently, ensuring that Robe enjoyed presenting one of the busiest and most visually stimulating stands on the expo floor at PLASA London 2024.
In addition to devising The Fifth Dimension show, the creative team designed the stand layout and spaces for all the Robe group of companies and brands, who also attracted their own interest and audiences.
