Prolight and Sound 2023: the 4th experience
A city I have lots of memories from my past travels
Frankfurt became “my city” in the last 5 years. I call “mine” the cities I feel so comfortable and familiar in, that they feel like home. I met Frankfurt as a stopover on my first trip to Prague in 2011. I remember sitting on my favourite last-line seat on an airbus from Lufthansa, and the city appeared on the right at my window sight during landing. I was very excited and impressed, as this was the first time I saw skyscrapers in my life. Even if they were relatively far from my sight, the view of the city and the buildings was amazing.
I have done many trips back and forth from this airport, I have used it once as a stopover for about 6 hours before flying to Manchester, but I never had the opportunity to escape into the city.
But there it comes in life moments one cannot predict or imagine that could happen, and since I started working for FOS Technologies, I’ve really made that city mine. I walked and explored many kilometres across it, from south to north and east to west. On my first visit together with the company I work for, since my free time was limited, I didn’t even have the time to eat properly a dinner, since I’d rather walk and see as much as possible, rather than spend two hours in a restaurant. Been to four Prolight and Sound exhibitions, and two visits for holidays, I love it more and more.
The Prolight and Sound Messe Experiences
The feedback I have from my older colleagues is that the Messe for light and sound has lost its former glory. I always listen to stories about how many people visited the Messe, how big and chaotic it was, and that it was so tiring exploring around and the four days were not enough to see everything. To be honest, as you can imagine since you have visited this website, I would love to have experienced it in the past. See how the scanners were presented, and shake hands with important people, like Pasquale Quadri for example, the founder and chairman of my favourite entertainment lighting manufacturer, ClayPaky.
But the past has gone and we are looking into the future, living today, so in any case, I always enjoy working/visiting the Messe. I do admire and learn from how the people in this industry are working as talented teams, to create such spectacles. I found it interesting both from the construction and the presenting/light shows aspect.
Ayrton’s dynamic awesomeness
Being truly honest, working at the Messe doesn’t leave me too much time to explore and learn details for most of the manufacturers/companies which participate at the fair. And there are always so many interesting things to see. I dedicate most of my available free time to my favourite manufacturers' shows and booths, like Clay Paky and Robe, and since my first visit there in 2018, Ayrton became also a must-see booth, installation and show.
Ayrton’s booth at the Prolight and Sound 2023, may have too many lights, but the programming skills are of first-class and talent, so you definitely can ignore the fact of quantity. I am against the “quantity over quality” motto, as I have seen so many shows with such logic, which are totally indifferent. Just hundreds of lights, running an FX with different phasing, and that’s it. That’s not the case with Ayrton’s presentation show, as the result is an artistic masterpiece. The music genres and songs that are used in a beautiful mix, in combination with the outstanding, multi-layer programming of the lights on such melodic diversity, are just totally awesomeness. By saying “multi-layer”, I mean that what you listen to at the moment, you can see is also represented with light. A beam, a flash, a gobo rotation, a movement, anything a modern light fixture can do, you can see it reacting during the show. I remember the last year’s show, how awesome the Gobo changes were, together with defocusing and zooming, in the first synth notes on Propellerheads “History Repeating”... or the Gobo indexing later on… If I had to choose, last year’s show was my favourite, since more spots were used, or probably I say that because of the way they were used. But, once more, their show left me stunned. Wonderful musical diversity, and extreme talent in programming. Such lighting designers are like composers in my opinion. Like a composer writes his music in every detail, and then takes you away with emotions, the same such lighting designers do when they are creating every detail in the lights reactions to the music.
Robe's persistence in prestige, loyalty and talent presentation
Robe’s booth always made me wander and dream about how it would feel to be a part of this, as an employee in such a company. All of their booths since 2018 which was my first year in Prolight and Sound, were totally awesome. This made me say to myself “Either you will have to work in such productions, or don’t work in this kind of business, at all. Just keep doing what you love at home with the restorations of old fixtures”. I really had a “professional career crisis” when facing such professionalism and art, and I was thinking that I wouldn’t deserve to work on something which is not equivalent in artistry and size.
This year Robe prepared two shows, one was a presentation for the new product series, and the second was the “all environments show” which included also acts, and it was built in reference to Earth’s climate and variety of weather conditions. It was a truly amazing spectacle to watch, and this was one of the reasons that I took almost no pictures and no video. I wanted to enjoy it to its fullest, with my own eyes. Like with Aytron, also Robe’s programming provides emotions, in total harmony with the soundtrack and act/dance, of the couple who wanders and tries to escape the difficulties of Earth’s conditions. Seeing the fixtures presenting their abilities during this show is a lesson on how light can be used in the best way to boost the emotions of a spectacle, a performance. Such light performances always leave me in awe and bring tears to my eyes, to the point that I try to be calm so I would not look so awkward.
Of course, not only the “All Environments Show” was full of big moments, and artistry, but also the product presentations show, with narration and a light show in total harmony with the soundtrack, which definitely sounded like a custom-tailored for that purpose. I put the Czechs on the same level as the Italians, they really know how to build and work with lights. They have my total respect and admiration!
ClayPaky’s spotlight on innovation
The neighbours, as I love to call them (neighbours as countries, and in the PLS booths for the last two years!), this year created a simple booth with a focus on the latest fixtures, their presentation, and the communication with the Messe attendees. Personally, I was never favouring “business meetings” like booths, but I believe that a show must be always a part of such companies, with such huge history in the entertainment industry, and ClayPaky is inseparably connected with the term “show”. However, business is business, and I understand the need of making various adaptions to a company’s presentation year after year.
Last year the booth and the show were awesome as well, and the fixtures were so impressively presented during the music styles, and since the booth, I worked on was right next to ClayPaky’s, I had the chance to see the show so many times and observe all the details regarding the programming and fixtures reaction. Another great lesson to learn, inspiration for show designing/programming, and admiration for the products and innovations!
This year I had the chance to see from real close the Mini Xtylos HPE, as well as the Mini B Spot, which is a light I fell in love with. Rare to do that with a moving head fixture, but definitely this light will be added to my collection one day. Its size, optics, colours, and gobos are something else. I was impressed and amazed already by its video presentation, and I couldn’t imagine that it could be so small. Seeing it in real life was a super surprise. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to see Skylos, as the presentation took place outside of the booth. I am looking forward to seeing the first projects which will use this fixture, as it is massive in size, and as it looks, in brightness also!
4 days with lots of discussions!
As a person who had a work obligation this year again, I enjoyed meeting people, and practising my German, even though I sweat a lot many times, as unfortunately the only practice of such tense, is only while I am in the Messe for work, and the vocabulary is not fresh. But I really love how people are responding when you try to communicate in their language. I feel the same when people try to speak Greek, and I know that is a very difficult language for most nations. But these days always remind me how much I like discussing and helping people make choices, or advice them. Thinking that I was very antisocial and shy when I was young, I would never believe that almost all of the jobs I have done had to do with talking and supporting many people. Messe is a place where you can hear the strangest thing, probably a new record would be broken from something someone said regarding this business. Some people have indeed strange ideas and even stranger questions!
Many funny moments with colleagues, and lonely walks and explorations to the city I feel mine now. Silence and loneliness are imposed on me in such cases. Just a walk or a ride on a train could fill up my energy after many hours of endless discussions and standing. Then just walking, listening to the wind, and trees, and breathing the fresh air of spring.
The highlight of this visit was the meeting with another fellow ClayPaky scanner collector, who we met online for about a year now and shared experiences regarding the fixtures, difficulties and restoration tips. I was so happy that I meet in person people with the same passion and opinion regarding the manufacturers and this type of light!
I believe that Prolight and Sound exhibition is now like an institution for me, and even when I change my professional carrier, I would still visit it, as it will bring back so many memories while it will create new ones and it will be a great place and time to reunite with the old friends I met there!
