A recent venture by Architen Lighting was to design, manufacture and install an LED mesh to envelope a blimp which would hover over the crowd at California’s Phish Festival last year. They worked alongside Hector Serrano Studios to bring to life the unusual scheme which Hector had envisioned.
Borealis at Phish Festival 2009
The four metre floating structure, called the Borealis but nicknamed the Burple by onlookers, consisted of a helium filled balloon covered with a net of LEDs to form a moving, floating video screen. The giant bubble was flown above the crowds with pre-programmed sequences flashing across its surface in a multitude of patterns to provide maximum impact.
Architen Lighting’s Flex Mesh LED-4 system gave Hector a simple and effective method of creating a full colour display. Three DMX universes’ of control were required from Pharos – provided by a networked LPC 1 and LPC 2. The front-end user interface was created using a custom web page served by an LPC and viewed on an iPhone.
Christopher Rowell, project manager and programmer for Architen Lighting said, “It was the Pharos controllers which provided the real power, allowing us to take the clients dream and turn it into reality, by allowing us to program stunning effects to amaze the audience”.
As the visual impact of the structure depended largely on its ability to fly, the weight of the system was important to the success of the scheme. The extremely light weight components are joined with a single power and data cable which dramatically reduces the weight in comparison to other systems.
Christopher continues, “Nothing quite like the Borealis has ever been created before and we’re thrilled with the results. Hours of manufacturing and development were carried out in the weeks running up to the event as all components were assembled at our Chepstow factory. Despite the hard work, we were thrilled by the results – nothing could quite have prepared us for the overall effect!”
Onlookers at the Phish Festival could not help being amazed, branding it as ‘awesome’ and ‘the next level of concert art’. Bookings for 2010 festivals have already begun!
