by Héctor Gómez Pérez
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will not only go down in history as the jousts in which more world records were broken: 43. Beijing also crowned a new king in an Olympic competition: the American Michael Phelps who won eight gold medals; In addition, the 2008 Olympics will go down in history for the lavishness, color and beauty of the opening and closing ceremonies.
And it is that without a doubt, the Chinese literally threw the house out the window in these two shows in which the millenary tradition of the eastern country, was combined in perfect harmony with the music and the pretentious choreographies in which lighting and pyrotechnics played a fundamental role. Were these acts equally beautiful without the last two ingredients? The answer is definitely no. In the same way that a concert by Maná, Juanes or Cerati, it would not impact the spectators in the same way without a play of lights that harmonizes with the music of the artists. In the same sense, the adequate lighting of a nightclub is a guarantee to create atmospheres that are complemented by music and that influence the mood of the attendees.
Precisely we wanted to invite three experts in the field: the engineer Carlos Manuel Gallo Vázquez, director of the Audiovisual Consortium Quetzalcoatl S.A. de C.V (Vidicom), the architect Pedro Garza de Mantenimiento Arquitectónico Integral S.A. de C.V, who offered us their vision on the lighting of shows, and Ricardo Flores Mendoza, Project Director of Siproe, a company dedicated to the assembly and lighting of nightclubs, who spoke about the importance of lighting in these places. With them we tried to inquire about the light and dark of the industry.
Creating an environment
There are many criteria that must be taken into account when doing lighting work, regardless of whether it is designed for a great show or for a space such as a restaurant or a nightclub. The most important thing, in both cases, is that the lighting must transmit sensations and create atmospheres. However, Carlos Manuel Gallo was clear in pointing out that investment, space, electrical power specifications and architecture play a preponderant role. For his part, Ricardo Flores Mendoza said that with regard to the lighting of nightclubs, the fundamental thing is to identify the market to which the business aims, because the type of lighting that will be used for a site that will be attended by people between 23 and 28 years old will not be the same as for an audience of more age. In the same vein, Pedro Garza pointed out that the main thing when it comes to illuminating a show can be summarized in the concept that is going to be transmitted, the point of view of the spectator, the disposition of technology to solve the aspect raised, that the light effects are mainly seen without the emitting source being very evident and the type of control that is will have on it (dimeo, color change, on, off, etc).
However, for specialists in lighting work there are also a number of factors that can hinder their initial desire to create suitable atmospheres in certain spaces. Among the most common can be pointed out the budgetary limitations, the lack of plans of the place where the work will be carried out and the time, which in the case of the shows, is decisive because they are projects that are executed with great pressures in their planning and design.
But what role does lighting play in scenarios such as those proposed in this article? We could point out that in a show it is the most important thing next to the audio. In that sense, throughout history the phrase coined by Confucius "a picture is worth a thousand words" has been widely used, which finally summarizes what lighting is: visual effects. "Taking into account that the main source of information of the human being is the view, since everything we see is reflected light, we could say that the lighting strategy radically changes the appearance of a site, the architectural space or the stage", Garza said.
Faced with the question he asked about the role of lighting, the expert in these designs for nightclubs said that "it is the scenery of the drink or cocktail that is being consumed. It is the atmosphere that surrounds us in a different atmosphere of daily life, it is the environment that should make us forget the daily problems and invites us to have fun in the best way, "said Flores.
Trends to illuminate
Over the years, heavy lighting equipment has been replaced by lighter technologies that in turn enable new explorations in the field. However, in the face of new trends, opinions are divided, opening the space for debate. Although LED technology has been gaining market for its quality, weight and quantity of electrical energy required, also because it uses very precise optics and that generate very interesting effects especially with the use of color, for Ricardo Flores, this technology has made it possible, especially as far as discotheques are concerned, that creativity is lost in the works. "Unfortunately today there is no longer the creativity that existed before. With the advent of robotic lighting and LED screens within reach of almost anyone, everyone does and puts the same. Even lighting consoles that were created for theatrical lighting are commonly used in nightclubs with pre-recorded scenes and that means that there is no creativity of the LJ to synchronize the lighting effects with the music."
Recapitulating what had initially been said about the Olympic Games, it is noteworthy the relevance that during the opening and closing ceremonies, had the combination of lighting and fireworks. Currently, this synergy is widely used in large-scale shows and does not generate risks because there is an exhaustive monitoring of both the quality of the products and the mechanisms to control them. "Currently the coordination in terms of technology of the fireworks is really impressive because the brains that control the teams can communicate automatically with those of the fireworks. However, it is essential to work with specialists to avoid accidents of any kind, analyzing with civil protection all kinds of involvement, "said Pedro Garza and as proof of this he gave the example of Disney World, where they are used daily without setbacks and with a perfect synchronization with music and video.
In an enclosed space, as is the case of a nightclub, pyrotechnics to accompany lighting is not widely used because the regulations of smoke detectors, automatic water sprinklers and sensors of all kinds, make this element can not be used because it would trigger any of these devices.
To show and the challenges ahead
We also asked our three guests about the shows, in the case of Carlos Gallo and Pedro Garza, and the nightclubs for Ricardo Flores, that have been illuminated by their companies and that are a source of pride. Carlos Gallo recalled that in 2003 Vidicom had the opportunity to make the lighting of the Carnival of Veracruz, in Mexico, in which "a considerable amount of robotics was used that filled us with satisfaction for the work done."
For Ricardo Flores, Siproe's flagship work is the Baby'O nightclub in Acapulco, Mexico. "He's going to turn 33 this December and he boasts of having special effects that are nowhere in the world." Finally, Pedro Garza pointed out that for Integral Architectural Maintenance, the show that takes the honors was that of light and sound of Xochicalco.
For these three lighting specialists, the challenges that this market must face in the short term are unfair competition, the international conditions of the segment, the creation of innovative proposals to not do what everyone does, in addition to a permanent technological update and the creation of multidisciplinary work teams so that all fronts are covered by the time to run a project.
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