Frank Verstraeten / Thomas Boets produce dazzling EDM immersion in Antwerp

The Antwerpen Sportpaleis played host to a cornucopia projected lasers and lighting earlier this summer when promoters, Zillion presented their new immersive ‘Iluminati’ dance concept.

This brand new design, conceived by Frank Verstraeten, who co-promoted the event with Yves Smolders, ran over two days—each with nine hours duration. A capacity 14,500 crowd immersed themselves in this unique purpose-built 3D ‘black box’ environment on each night.

Helping to create the magic were an abundance were GLP JDC1 and JDC Lines—some 85 x JDC Line 500 and 40 x JDC 1 hybrid strobes were deployed. “We used all of these fixtures, not only as a conventional strobe but also to create an atmospheric glow, enabling us to punch through with the other moving heads,” said lighting and set designer, Thomas Boets (from LDP). They placed 45 of the JDC Line 500 on two large trusses above each moving head while the second batch of 40 JDC Line 500 were mounted on the front / left and right side of the DJ stage.

The stage itself—6m wide and 6m deep—could elevate DJs to a height of 8.5m. “We used the Lines in combination with the two long side trusses, to create an extremely powerful effect. These connected the two long trusses to create an even larger look. The variety of colours used to create the atmosphere and the powerful strobe chases resulted in a huge tunnel which attracted people towards the stage.”

To this were added 40 JDC1 hybrid strobes—20 attached to the main grid in the roof and the remaining 20 to the moving mirror video boxes, which had been custom made for this event and attached on moving hoists. “It gave us the opportunity to play with the different heights and movement of the objects in the venue,” the LD continued. “The ability to create a bigger scenographic effect with these JDC1’s was the cherry on the cake.”

In fact the impact created by GLP’s popular hybrid fixtures certainly received the approval of Leon Driessen, who operated the show from a ChamSys desk. “The JDC1 simply remains a power product, especially the combination of the wall wash and strobe in one fixture. The aggressive flash mode—in which the power goes from the backplate to the strobe engine—also makes it especially interesting.”

As for the JDC Line, this was new to him.“But we were very positively surprised that this small fixture could have so much impact; in no way was it inferior to the JDC1.”

This had all come about because GLP’s Belgian distributor, Nils De laeter from A Light Balance BV, had called Thomas Boets and whetted his appetite with the announcement of the new JDC Line fixture. “He then introduced me to it at Pro Light & Sound in Frankfurt,” recalls the designer. “I was immediately surprised by its output and how small this fixture was. The different ways you can use it with the RGBW LEDs were impressive … particularly the strobe impact and the many possibilities created by the different options available.” Some of the fixtures were supplied by PRG Belgium,who were the event’s technical partner, the remainder were sourced from Germany.

On reflection, Thomas Boets confirmed that the many intensive creative meetings with Frank Verstraeten had certainly paid off for this inaugural concept. “We both came up with a unique set-up which had many high tech surprises and special tricks. Frank already had a lot of specials in mind that he wanted to implement and all the pieces of the puzzle came together in the final design.”

He also credited show director André Beeckmans. “He is well-known in the EDM industry so he was a valuable asset for this event.”

And his final verdict on the new JDC Line? “It was the first time I had used them but I was amazed how powerful this small strobe fixture was in its ability to create atmosphere, and in combination with the JDC1 it proved flawless!”

“For a tech geek like me, this was a dream come true,” summarised Frank Verstraeten to which Thomas Boets added, “The event was an unqualified success. We needed a powerful fixture for this type of event and the GLP fixtures blended perfectly into the design. We went really deep into the technical side of this setup so all the different elements could work together— and this created a maximum experience for visitors.”

Credits: Jim Matheus (production manager); Thomas Boets (lighting and set designer);  Leon Driessen / Niels Baten (lighting operators); André Beeckmans (show director); laserimage (laser operator); Bass Szs (audio engineer); Ruben Gorissen Prismax (video operator); Lesly Van Rompaey, Wii creations (motion operator); Bjorn Ielegems & Sandy van Riet (stage management).