Architectural lighting can put historical backdrops in a whole new light, and in Marburg they’ve been taking advantage of this aesthetic nighttime bonus for many years. Once a year, Marburgers enjoy ‘Marburg b(u)y Night’ – an annual event which sees 60 different structures and buildings in the town set in scene with creative lighting. In the midst of this lighting spectacle, Marburg’s shops all stay open until midnight. However, on the tenth anniversary of the event, the focus lay elsewhere: with the project ‘Blickpunkt Schloss’ – ‘Eyes on the Castle’.
It was a real one-off show focusing on Marburg’s Landgrafenschloss castle, which was set in scene with an audiovisual timecode show with musical accompaniment with views from three perspectives every half-hour. In order to make the ambitious project a reality, it was necessary to call on the creme de la creme of lighting engineers. Clay Paky provided the backbone of much of the project, with 36 Clay Paky Mythos being deployed. “The Clay Paky Mythos was used thanks to its intense light and excellent beam functions. The aim was to be able to see the beam even from long distances,” explained lighting designer, programmer and operator Stefan Haffner as to why Clay Paky was chosen.
Another strong contender in the lighting field also played its part in lighting up the castle: the MA lighting range. A grandMA2 light, a MA onPC command wing, a MA 8Port Node onPC and four MA VPU plus MK2 (Video Processing Units), as well as an MA remote control for ease of use, allowed the big highlight to be realised. An experienced lighting engineer, Haffner appreciated both the reliability and the networking functionality the series has to offer: “The MA VPU was used to play the show at various points in the town over a network. What I like about the MA VPU is it fits almost flawlessly into the overall MA user philosophy making it super easy to learn.”
With reliable partners like these, Marburg could enjoy the tenth anniversary of Marburg b(u)y night it deserved, with a show that will take some topping next year.
Source: Georg Kronenberg
