Elation reinforces creative lighting in 'The House of Musicians'’

The lighting upgrade Elation Fuze at Det Musiske Hus cultural center in Denmark offers completely new creative possibilities. The collaboration with LiteNordic generates greater security and lighting flexibility for a multifunctional space

The Music House (The musicians' house) has launched an important cultural space in the city of Frederikshavn, in northern Denmark, began a project to improve its conventional front and room lighting systems.

With the aim of improving both the technical capabilities and the general atmosphere of the space, the site opted to install automated moving framing heads Fuze Profile and recessed lights Fuze Pendant. These Elation luminaires offer a full color spectrum and high CRI.

The renewal, driven by the need to improve security, increase flexibility and expand creative lighting possibilities for your various events, se produce cuando Det Musiske Hus celebra 20 years as a multifunctional event space. The largest room in the place hosts concerts, theatrical performances, comedy shows, business meetings and conferences for seated and standing audiences of up to 900 personas.

Two projects in one

Morten Sønderskov, operations director of Arena Nord, the cultural center that manages the place, spearheaded the lighting renovation alongside Dennis Juul, the venue's chief lighting technician.

The project began as part of an effort to resolve the problem with the front lighting of the site and the inability to acquire light bulbs for the lights in the house on the site..

“The project was actually two wishlist projects that were merged into one larger project”, explain Sønderskov. “Our headlights posed significant safety challenges due to their height and accessibility. How the spot could switch between standing and sitting configurations, we had difficulty reaching the lights safely using ladders. Therefore, It was important to find a solution that had the ability to remotely control the headlights. "That would also allow us to place the headlights higher and closer to the roof.".

Lighting evaluation

The ability to focus the front light through a lighting console was vital, but other factors such as silence, the power, high color reproduction and framing blinds were also important.

Sønderskov and Berthelsen began the search process by contacting their suppliers for recommendations, including Elation's Danish partner, LiteNordic, before borrowing several luminaires to make your evaluation.

“We knew that the luminaires would hang just above the heads of our audience, so we were worried about the noise level”, explain Sønderskov. “That eliminated several products. Finally, We narrowed it down to three products and then did our own comparison, and that convinced us”.

Fuze Profile

After extensive testing and a careful selection process, The team chose Elation's Fuze Profile for its combination of light quality, color, low noise and framing shutters, all with the possibility of remote control.

Eight luminaires were installed in the great room to serve as front lights, replacing conventional white light ellipsoidals and allowing the venue to control the focus of the light, color and shutters remotely.

“The ability to remotely control the luminaire is a great advantage”, affirms Sønderskov. “Now we can place the lighting bar at a better height and use the shutter blades to cut out elements of the stage that we want people to focus on.”. It's also great to have the ability to change colors. “We can be much more creative and it is a much faster process”.

By using them as more than just a front light, the lighting team has found ways to incorporate them more into the creative process.

"For example, if we use 3 o 4 Fuze Profiles to identify something, We still have spare lights that we can use to decorate the side walls with colors or gobo patterns. That's a big advantage. “We are finding new ways to use them all the time”, adds Sønderskov.

Updating the lighting in the room

In addition to replacing the front lights in the great room, Det Musiske Hus has also updated the lights in the hall, as the old system bulbs were being phased out. When LiteNordic's Jimmy Thinggaard Sørensen suggested I bring a Fuze Pendant downlight to the lighting evaluation, the venue's lighting team was eager to take a look.

“We incorporated the Fuze Pendant into the project and went through the same process as before, where we incorporate some comparable luminaires and carry out comparative tests”, continues Sønderskov, adding that the noise level was a very important factor along with the light output. "One more time, the decision leaned towards Elation and we chose 34 Fuze Pendant to replace the previous system”.

Installed on the ceiling above the audience and the stage, The new LED luminaires provide powerful white and colored lighting, suitable for entry and basic task lighting applications and setting the mood during events.

“The Fuze Pendants have a full color spectrum LED engine (Rgulentic), which allows us to do much more creatively”, comment Sønderskov. “We've done a couple of shows and corporate events where we bring some of the lights closer to the walls and match them with the color of the corporate event or logo, or whatever is happening on stage, and then we placed the middle lights in white to create a great atmosphere in the room”. Mention that before, his only option was to dim the white lights.

Other possibilities

Since Fuze Pendants are also mounted on stage and backstage, Sønderskov clarifies that they have also started using them for blue lights backstage. “In many shows, the luminaries are behind the backdrop and out of public view, so we use them as blue lights, which is also a great advantage”.

The luminaires also offer a refined dimming curve, which has proven to be particularly beneficial during comedy performances, where subtle lighting improves interaction with the public. “It is good to have a luminaire that can be dimmed very little and give only a little luminance. Again, “We can do that with just a few lights.”.

Sønderskov adds that with full support for the industry-standard sACN transmission protocol, can hand over the entire room lighting system to guest technicians. “We have experienced that they have begun to use it creatively. It is easy for them to place it on their table and select what they want as lighting for the audience”.

In addition to greater flexibility and creative possibilities, the new lighting system, especially the living room lights, offers significant energy savings.

The new lighting installation was completed with the help of local electricians, while Det Musiske Hus took care of the assembly and programming of the luminaires in-house. Since it was fully operational last summer, The venue has used the new lighting system for several events, with positive feedback from visiting staff and production teams.