On 9 November 2024, Berlin celebrated the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Instead of the traditional central celebration at the Brandenburg Gate, this year the city opted for a decentralized concept with five stages at different locations. In addition, 5,000 posters designed by Berliners marked the course of the former Wall, visualizing the historic moment in a memorable way.
A central highlight of this commemorative event was the lighting design, brought to life by Flo Erdmann, a 36-year-old lighting designer from Solingen, working hand in hand with artcollective phase7 performing.arts. Together with director Sven Sören Beyer and the Light Art Studios programming team, Erdmann helped to realize the collective's artistic vision for this special day. The big challenge was to create a lighting design that was quick and easy to set up, but which also emphasized the formal language of Sven Sören Beyer and Janik Albrecht's set without dominating it. Using GLP X5 IP bars, it was possible to extrude the video content via pixel mapping and create a more spatial presentation. This technical and creative approach resulted in a visually stunning production that brought the content to the fore.
The Depence software, which Erdmann and phase7 used for both pre-production and visualization, played a key role in the implementation. In the run-up to the event, a five-day pre-programming session was held in Berlin to visually prepare all the scenes and make the most of the limited rehearsal time. A teaser video created with Depence 3 was used at the press conference to give a first impression of the show. The use of Depence was essential given the very limited time available for set-up and rehearsals. With only four set-up day and one rehearsal day on site, detailed pre-production with the Visualizer was essential. Thanks to the Viz-Key integration and the accuracy of the fixture library, the entire show could be seamlessly programmed on a GrandMA3 system.
The team could not imagine their workflow without Depence. The ability to pre-program shows in detail and create high-quality renderings at the same time makes the software an indispensable tool for professional productions. ‘In addition to detailed visualization, Depence provides a pleasant working environment and is always up to date thanks to its proximity to users.’ says Erdmann.
Finally, they emphasized that Depence is in good hands with professionals. Anyone who wants to prepare productions at the highest level and work efficiently will find this software to be a reliable partner. The lighting design for the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is an impressive example of what Depence can do - a symbiosis of creativity, precision and technology that leaves a lasting impression.
Technik:
92 x GLP X5 BAR IP
24 x GLP Impression X5 MAXX
16 x Fusion X-Par 12Z
120 x Cameo Zenit W600
26 x Cameo Zenit W600 SMD
24 x Robe iForte LTX
2 x Elation Proteus Brutus (PRG Follow Version)
Credits:
Client: Kulturprojekte Berlin
Artistic realization/ design: phase7 performing.arts
Director: Sven Sören Beyer
Lighting design: Flo Erdmann
Programming: Raphael Grebenstein, Ole Güllich (Light Art Studios)
Operators main stage: Raphael Grebenstein (show light), Ole Güllich (white light)
Operators other stages: Johannes Laugwitz, Alina Schmidbauer, Leo Künne, Daniel Vetter
Video art: Studie Eigengrau, Till Vanish
Realization 5.000 pictures: compactteam
Booking/ Org. Rockin 1000: Büro Döring
Technical planning: IVV / Bärlin Team
Technical service provider: Production Resource Group
Stage: Neumann Gerüstbau/ Megaforce
