Claypaky Sharpy Parties All Night at Complex Nightclub

	Nearly 100 Claypaky Sharpys powered the immersive light show at Complex Nightclub's New Year's Eve celebration. Photo: Laura Siliquini

Nearly 100 Claypaky Sharpys were exclusively selected to deliver an immersive eight-hour light show to 2,000 partygoers at an underground club night that was hosted by trailblazing Dutch techno music agency Claydrum at Complex nightclub, Maastricht in the Netherlands, for their New Year's Eve celebrations.

Dutch production designer Joël Lemmerling, from Maastricht-based production company, Stöd, selected 96 of the multi-award winning Sharpy luminaires to create a fastidious design formulated by gridded white, colored, and UV light beams and clever manipulation of angles. The luminaires were supplied to Stöd by Claypaky's Belgium distributor AED.

"We wanted a fixture that could deliver perfect beams of light that were easy to see, even with colors that are normally less visible, like red and UV," says Lemmerling, who utilized the Sharpy's 14 option color wheel in conjunction with its interchangeable gobo wheel, strobe effect system, and eight-facet rotating prism in the design.

"The Sharpy offers an impressively high output and has always proved reliable," explains Lemmerling. "The fixture provides a very precise, very tight beam with almost no spread; this helped us to achieve the angular effects we wanted for the dance event."

To create lighting looks that fitted with the fast beats of the night's popular DJs, Lemmerling rigged a series of eight flown trusses hosting a grid of 12 Sharpys each to ensure a tight, uniform formation of beams. Using the Sharpy's super quick pan (540-degrees at max 2.45 sec) and tilt (250-degrees at 1.30 sec) movement, Lemmerling created a dynamic, interweaving light show that, through the clever use of mathematics, at times appeared to bend the the Sharpy's 0- to 3.8-degree adjustable light beam.

"We were able to achieve the light show's precise geometry by focusing on the rigging and the placements of the fixtures," reveals Lemmerling. "We drew a grid on the floor to get the perfect alignment for the Sharpys and every one of the 96 fixtures was adjusted by hand. It took some effort but was absolutely worth it. I must credit Lars Aarts from TYS Productions for his determination in getting everything aligned impeccably."

Using such a large number of high-performance luminaires in a relatively small nightclub space meant temperature was a concern for the Stöd team. Lemmerling relied on the inbuilt cooling system on the Sharpy to confidently use the luminaires continuously all night without worry of them overheating or making the dance hall too hot for audiences.

The NYE Complex club night was hosted by Dutch music agents Claydrum and took place on December 31, 2016. The evening featured sets from acid house and techno DJs Floorplan (M-Plant USA); Tommy Four Seven (47 Berlin); Marco Resmann (Watergate Berlin); and STØRM (Claydrum Maastricht).