Los Angeles, CA

In May this year, contestants from EU nations and beyond gathered in Moscow to compete in the 54th Eurovision Song Contest, each hoping to become the next ABBA. The event has become one of the world’s largest production spectaculars. Procon Event Engineering of Hamburg supplied lighting, sound, video, and rigging gear and services. Forty trucks and 70 technicians were dispatched, with an array of equipment including seven Solaris T-Light 85kW Lightning Machines, and six Hippotizer HD media servers controlling six PufferSpheres with full backup.

The set and lighting design was massive, including 2,000 square meters of LED tiles, 700 moving lights, 250 LED fixtures, 500 Par lights, and approximately 100 km of cable. Rigging requirements amounted to 4,400 meters of truss, 520 chain hoists on 900 points with a total load of approximately 140 tons. The Lighting Designer was Al Gurdon and Set Designer was John Casey.

“Al Gurdon had previously used Solaris T-Lights for flash/strobe effects on the Echo Awards in Berlin, and after a close look at the product, we decided to add the T-Lights to our rental equipment pool,” says Morten Carlsson, Procon CEO. “Mr. Gurdon chose the T-Light for the Eurovision Song Contest as well, where they proved to be reliable and daylight bright. They can be used in either strobe or “constant on” modes with a nearly perfect color rendering index that surpasses HMI.”

Housed in a rugged stainless steel enclosure with yoke, the Solaris T-Light Lightning Machine has a flash length from 1/30 to 3.5 seconds and an output of up to two million lumens! Pre-programmed or customized flash sequences can be triggered by DMX. The beam is adjustable from spot to flood.

The six Hippotizers were connected to the PufferSpheres via DVI matrix and controlled by a grandMA console courtesy of Timo Kauristo of Sweden. Hippotizer media servers are recognized as the leading solution for real-time video effects, manipulation and playback. Prominent productions worldwide, in a wide array of disciplines – Concerts, Theatre, Opera, Television, Worship, Corporate and more – are now specifying the Hippotizer, making it “the industry’s favorite media server.”

Find out more about Procon Event Engineering at www.procon.com.
Solaris products are distributed exclusively by TMB: www.tmb.com/products/solaris/.
Learn more about these and other innovative and exciting products from TMB at www.tmb.com.