Bačka Topola, Serbia –  The circle, that most mystical of shapes that philosophers have describe as a “reflection of eternity,” served as an ideal design motif for the main stage at the recent Lake Festival. Like the circle itself, which has no beginning or end, and embraces all, the three-day festival encompassed a diverse mix of artists from Europe and USA with infinite ease.

LD Anđelko Popić and team at Chameleon Rental opted to reflect the spirit of the festival by building their production design around three concentric circles that expanded outward from the stage’s center. This arrangement gave designers the freedom to create widely different settings for the festival’s various acts, allowing them to move from the intimate, when almost all light came from the smaller center sphere, to the more elaborate, when crossing beam patterns from fixtures on different circles created complex patterns.

To enhance this flexibility and add power to their circular design, the Chameleon Rental team anchored their rig with 88 CHAUVET Professional fixtures from their company’s own extensive inventory.

Playing a key role in this rig were the eight Rogue R2X Beam fixtures flown on the smaller center stage circle. Among the many functions that these high output 231-watt beams were used for at the festival was to create a dramatic ring of light around those artists who performed under the circular truss.

A collection of six other R2X Beam units were also on the rig, positioned on the two larger outer circles. Drawing on the tight one degree beam angle and intense output (134,000 lux at 15 meters) of these movers, the designers were able to animate the entire festival site with some dramatic aerial effects.

Joining the Rogue R2X Beams on the outer circles were 12 Maverick MK1 Spot fixtures, five of which were position on the second truss and used for downlighting, while the remained joined in creating aerial magic. Also on the outer circles were 22 Maverick MK2 Wash units, which were used for stage and crowd washing.

To engage fans further, the designers relied on four STRIKE 4 fixtures, flown across upstage horizontal truss. Providing bold colorful backgrounds to the down lighting from the overhead fixtures were six COLORado PXL bar fixtures arranged across the upstage deck.

The versatility of this rig was very much needed as the Lake Festival featured a diverse array of acts on its main stage. This included Serbian artists like rappers Voyage, as well as performers from Hungry like Byealex and Sun City Brass, which served up a unique combination of jazz and EDM/DJ sounds; Croatia, in the form of the dance/pop band Colonia; and the USA, with Detroit rapper Madroxx.

Although these acts represented a broad spectrum of music, each felt right at home on a stage that seemed as if it were designed just for them, such is the inclusive power of the circle— and inspired lighting design!