LD Raphaël Demonthy uses the power and light quality of impression X5, X5 Compact and X5 Bar 1000 to bring Madrid's Caja Mágica to life
At this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC) in Madrid, the lighting design by Raphaël Demonthy (Sunrise Studios GmbH) was based around finely tuned technology from GLP, which created enormous impact under demanding conditions. In the Caja Mágica, a well-known tennis arena in Madrid with a capacity of 12,000 seats, more than 250 GLP fixtures ensured that the performances of each of the 17 participating countries could be staged in a unique way. With the right balance of creative versatility and technical precision, the various fixtures in the X5 Series supported the visual implementation of the show, which thrilled millions of viewers worldwide.
High up
Raphaël Demonthy had to integrate into his design a 20-metre-high LED wall and a gigantic flower decoration—the so-called ‘hanging gardens’—which extended from the stage into the audience. The size of the hall and the height of the lighting rig, reaching up to 22 metres, required innovative and powerful solutions.
“It’s not every day you have to deal with a light rig over 20 metres high,” says Demonthy. “The impression X5 was really impressive under these conditions. Despite the enormous distance, it was completely visible even in a narrow zoom. Sometimes we even had to run them darker because the power was too strong for the cameras.”
In particular, the enormous heights of the backlight, which ran up to 21 metres, presented Demonthy with a demanding task: “With these distances you have to plan precisely to avoid unwanted shadows—especially with white light. The show light was also crucial in such a way that, despite the height, each of the 17 countries was visually presented in a unique way.”
impression X5 precision
The GLP spots played a central role in the implementation of the stage and lighting design. Above the main stage, 51 impression X5s were arranged as powerful wash lights in three lines to create both flat light and narrow beam looks. To the side, in front of the stands, 64 impression X5 Compacts provided a visual extension of the stage into the audience. Their compact design and yet high output would have made them the ideal choice here.
48 impression X4 and 38 impression X4 L were used for the audience backlight, which ensured uniform illumination thanks to their versatility. A special highlight were the 48 impression X5 Bar 1000, which—installed in several horizontal lines—illuminated the huge floral decoration. Demonthy emphasises the precision of the X5 colour mix: “We had to work specifically with pastel tones in order to get the right green in the camera, which was very precise with the X5 Bars.”
The setup was complemented by eight FUSION Stick FS16 Z, which added decorative accents to the so-called Scrutineers Desk, which was used for Martin Österdahl’s connection.
The lighting technology for the Junior ESC was supplied by PRG Spain. The Spanish broadcaster RTVE was responsible for the production in collaboration with the company Sold Out.
Demonthy, who works internationally, from TV productions to industrial and live events, concludes: “We don’t see our job as work, but as an opportunity to live out our creativity—with heart and soul. Fixtures that can be used creatively and precisely, such as GLP’s X5 Series, help with this.”
Credits
Lighting design: Raphaël Demonthy - Sunrise Studios GmbH
Show light operator: Fabian Schmidt
Lighting chief & spot caller: Matthias Hagel
White light operator: Tobias Heydthausen
Gaffer: Oliver Klaus
Lighting technology supplier: PRG Spain
Production: RTVE & Sold Out
