Leading Japanese lighting designer Mitsumasa Hayashi created “The Robe Lighting Show” –a piece of light art at the Urayasu Mai Studio of the Nihon Stage Co., Ltd. – which featured over 350 Robe moving lights. These were supplied by prominent Japanese rental companies, M-Tech Style and the Mula Corporation. The piece was commissioned by Masaharu Sakamoto who heads up LTG, Robe’s Japanese distributor.

Sakamoto was keen to produce a lighting art video concept that could be enjoyed and appreciated by lighting enthusiasts worldwide, and he knew Hayashi was the right person to create a brilliant, poignant, and high-impact work.

Sakamoto himself was inspired by the positive, robust power of Robe’s brand messaging during these uncertain pandemic times. “A show like this using Robe products exclusively is unprecedented in Japan, so it was great to create one with everyone’s cooperation,” he commented.

The 10-minute lightshow features three music tracks and the action takes place on an empty stage which is bare apart from a large and symbolic piece of driftwood, placed, so Hayashi could imagine a world of light and energy around it inspired by the music. 

One hundred and twenty-six Robe BMFL WashBeam EVs, 168 x MegaPointes, 12 x ESPRITES and 56 x Tetra2s were specifically chosen to create the work. A hundred and twenty of the BMFL WashBeams were arranged in a back wall, six rows deep, each row with 20 fixtures, the highest being at 11 metres off the stage and the lowest at 2 metres. These trusses moved up and down on an automation system. A further four BMFL WashBeams were deployed in each corner of the performance space on the floor, with a fifth upstage centre on the floor.

The MegaPointes were positioned on two long left and right long side trusses which each had 24 x MegaPointes, with a third set of 24 x MegaPointes at the bottom of the back wall of BMFL EVs. These same physical positions for another 72 MegaPointes were mirrored on the floor, with another 24 fixtures rigged on a 12-metre circular truss above the stage.

Above the centre point of the stage was a 3 diameter Parasol KLR spinning truss loaded with the 12 x ESPRITES, and directly above the driftwood tree trunk, pinpointing the epicentre of the geometric design, was another single BMFL WashBeam. The Tetra2 bars were rigged along the back wall, on the lower run of side trussing and on the floor. All these fixtures complemented each other beautifully and harmoniously.

A fusion of visual ideas, fantastic programming and this large array of multipurpose fixtures gave Hayashi all the scope and dynamics needed to produce this stunning show that cycles through a whole range of emotions – starting off reflective and delicate and working its way to an intense and expressive crescendo, taking viewers on a thrilling journey.

Josef Valchar, CEO, Robe s.r.o. commented: “It was amazing to see Hayashi’s work – as always! He crafted an exquisite show utilizing so many fine-tuned features of the fixtures, which was really thought-through and explored the boundaries of what can be achieved with a spectacular result.”


Still images are taken from the video and are courtesy LTG

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