The Fête des Vignerons marked a milestone with the installation of the largest Led floor in the world

To design this surface of 800 m2 were used 3.132 Absen LF7 Pro panels from 4.500 Nit. In addition, at the top of the four scenarios were installed 150 m2 of screens Led AT5 Pro in the form of columns. For its control, Barco's E2 system and several Smode multimedia servers were used..

the Fête des Vignerons, an event that takes place every year 20 years in a temporary stadium on the shores of Lake Geneva, It has the participation of a large number of artists who wear elaborate costumes, as well as animals and vehicles. A month-long event to honour the region's winegrowers stretching from Lavaux to Chablais in Switzerland.

Organized by the Brotherhood of Viticulturists, the Confrérie des Vignerons, The show represents a year of the life of the vineyard through 21 Action-packed scenes. This year's event has had a great technological innovation in the form of a gigantic Led floor of VISS Display, Subsidiary of Absen, provided by the Alabama rental company.

How two decades have passed since the last Fête was held, The technical team of 200 People had to make sure that this year's edition met all expectations, and demonstrate the best of the last two decades in live event technology.

With this objective, a temporary stadium was built with capacity for 20.000 people in the Swiss town of Vevey who had to accommodate more than 5.500 volunteer artists and 900 Singers and musicians from the area.

“I grew up in the area and everyone in this region knows the Fête des Vignerons because it is really unique.”, says François Mottier, Technical Director of the event.

After the installation of the first technical elements, The project evolved for budgetary reasons and also from a creative perspective to ensure that it was in line with the vision of the artistic director., Daniele Finzi Pasca, designer of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Turin and Sochi, as well as some Cirque du Soleil productions. To make it easier for the technical team to understand the key themes and narrative, Workshops were held together with the organizer, the Confrérie des Vignerons.

As day and night shows were requested, A more powerful visual solution than high-quality video projection was required, which motivated to opt for the incorporation of a Led floor.

“We pushed for the Led because we wanted to use something different and we believed it was capable of adding a lot of visual power to the show. In addition, with its 800 square meters, would become the largest Led floor ever implemented for an event”, clarifies François.

With heavy vehicles such as tractors driven on the surface while cows, Horses and carts, and goats roamed the stadium, It was essential that the soil, configured with 3.132 Panels, Out resistant.

A large number of tests were carried out in extreme conditions, as with high temperatures, to ensure it was sturdy and worked properly in the sun before LF7 Pro floor panels were chosen from 4.500 nits of the subsidiary of Absen, VISS Display. A team that had a weight of 66 tons with frames.

The product was designed in conjunction with Alabama, who provided all the video equipment for the stadium. In addition to covering practically the entire floor area with outdoor Led, The company supplied 150 square meters of outdoor Led screens Absen AT5 Pro in the form of columns, that were placed on top of the four stages.

In addition, provided a visual technical control system based on the E2 system of ship and multiple media servers Smode, and installed a system of cameras and return monitoring to ensure the show was viewed smoothly on all screens.

Managed by Dominique Lassarat, general manager and Alabama Project Manager for the Fête des Vignerons, the product development process involved the creation of a Led technology that would ensure that the images could be clearly seen., even during daylight performances, and that in turn could offer a controlled consumption of electricity.

A large fan that pushed cold wind from the lake below the ground helped cool the surface by using tiny microparticles of water that evaporated to reduce heat.. Additional fans were placed on the ground around the edge of the ground to control the fog used in production..

“The system was so efficient that not even the hottest day, in which the soil temperature reached 75 Degrees, We had problems. He had worked with this type of soil on a smaller scale., So this was something really special..

We built a slope on the edge to drain the water and designed a Led platform of 20 meters long that could be raised and lowered by a hydraulic system, to allow the entry and exit of the stadium of the artists and the elements that appeared in the show”, adds François Mottier.

The use of Led also allowed the production team to show Finzi Pasca and the choreographers markers that indicated where the artists should be placed and where objects such as trampoline mats should be placed..

To ensure that the soil operated in the most demanding conditions (direct sunlight), Tests were conducted in an open-air theater with a version of 3.000 VISS product nits.

“I was worried it wasn't bright enough., so a version of 4.500 Waterproof NITS that could withstand 1,2 tons per square meter”, says Roberto Vitalini de Bashiba, content creator and responsible for the images displayed on the floor Led.

Due to distance, The audience watched the ground from a pixel pitch of 7,8 Mm. “The smaller it is, The more fragile it becomes and the harder it is to get a high shine and power, So we needed to balance that.”, added Dominique Lassarat.

With a floor composed of 13 millions of LeDs, supported by others 5 million on the edge, The team could guarantee an impressive show, even during the day. When used as an effect in combination with lighting, The floor could also illuminate artists.

“During our evening productions, the Led has a power of 20%, while during the day it works at 100%. It's the beginning of an exciting new era where screens can be seen in broad daylight.”, explains Roberto Vitalini.

Around the edge of the stadium, 200 Altair AT5 series panels (Ultralight LED itinerant 5,5 mm and 4.500 nits of Absen) showed content that complemented or reflected the artists' ground images or close-ups.

This solution was selected in part because of its common cathode technology., that requires little energy, offers low heat dissipation, High refresh rates and reduces pixel failures. Alabama worked alongside Absen once again during the R+D phases to ensure it was strong and lightweight., and helped develop a subsequent framework to accelerate rigging..

In the control tower, the multimedia server Smode offered advanced control and easy adjustment of the brightness of the content of the bordering panels and the Led floor during day and night shows.

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