KM Productions Engages Audience With Chauvet Professional At Kaskade's Pier of Fear Show

	Photo: Mark Owens

As an international superstar, Kaskade's gift to connect with his audience goes beyond pounding synths and tight reverbs. Kevin Mignone, owner of KM Productions, called on a collection of fixtures from Chauvet Professional to support this artist-audience bond during the dance maven's sold out Automatic Tour concert during the annual Pier of Fear on Manhattan's West Side.

Mignone positioned 24 Legend 330SR Spot moving fixtures over the audience section of the 135,000 s. ft. converted ocean liner terminal (officially called Pier 94) for the Kaskade show, which was produced by RPM Presents. All of the fixtures were directed at the crowd of 10,000 fans.

"Audience lighting is critical at any EDM concert because fans want to be engaged with the artist," says Mignone. "However, this is especially true with an artist like Kaskade because of the way he connects to the audience."

Kaskade opened the midnight concert with numbers like "I Remember" and "Last Chance," before he stopped the music to reminisce about the times he spent in New York before his fame. Looking out over the audience, which was illuminated by the Chauvet fixtures, he recalled some of his experiences playing house music in front of small crowds, sometimes less than 100 people, at some of the city's clubs. He then launched into hits from his new album.

"Audience lighting serves two functions," says Mignone. "It makes the audience feel more engaged with the performance, and it gives the artist a closer connection to the audience."

To support this connection, Mignone ran the Legend 330SR Spots at full light cannon power, a beefy 62,200 lux at 5m. He also ran the fixtures, which were mounted on house trusses, at a wide 24° beam angle for maximum area coverage. "A good thing about the Legends is that they gave us a lot of coverage in a big room without being very bulky or difficult to hang," he says.

Controlling his lighting rig with a full-sized grandMA2 controller, Mignone used the Legends to project a variety of gobo and prism effects on the crowd. "We like to vary the audience lighting and change it with the music to make people feel like they're part of the show," he says. "Fans come to a venue like this to see an artist like Kaskade because they want to be part of an experience. We always want our lighting to contribute to the creation of this experience for them."