Estonian rental company Strikken supplied the lighting design and production design and equipment for the Power Stage Live TV podium, which welcomed the 2020 winners of Rally Estonia event – part of the World Rally Championship (WRC) – and was set up close to the final stage finish line, near Rally Estonia’s HQ in Tartu.
They relied on the power and versatility of Robe moving lights including LEDWash 300s, LEDWash 800s and MMX Spots to deliver spectacular looking results. The luminaires were picked for their compact size, light weight, and brightness, and all rigged on the stage ground support structure together with some outrigged pipes facilitating the front positions.
The event was broadcast in 155 countries worldwide, and the Power Stage podium featured a 20-metre-deep by 30-metre-wide platform with two drive-on / off wings at the front and a substantial LED screen upstage. Lighting for TV generally was the starting point for the design, which was created by Strikken’s Raiko Saadjärv, Mihkel Västrik and Meelis Lever in collaboration with the Rally Estonia team.
The main challenge was ensuring that the lighting fixtures looked neat and maintained the clean lines and modern look of the stage which also had clear roof skins.
The eight LEDWash 300s onstage provided back washes, with the five LEDWash 800s key lighting at the front. It was a daylight event with the additional ambient lumens emanating from the LED screen, so they needed powerful washes enabling good skin tones and the LED washes were an ideal solution.
The two MMX Blades were used for boosting the light levels when winning drivers Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja drove their Hyundai WRC onstage to collect the trophy for the third consecutive year! Thanks to the MMX shutters, they and the vehicle could be precisely and crisply lit.
Also on the rig were some blinders and strobes, and all lighting was controlled via a ChamSys MQ80 console.
Strikken additionally supplied lighting for sponsors Sportland’s mobile shop, a stand-alone tented space which had been erected at all 17 special stages of the Rally Estonia event which covered a total competitive distance of 232.64 km. These outlets enabled fans and pass holders to purchase rally branded kit and memorabilia as well as Covid-related products like masks, hand sanitiser, etc.
They also provided lighting for the final stage press and media tent.
The Strikken crew of seven were led by Taisto Raamat who comments, “Once again we enjoyed the great teamwork involved in making this event happen smoothly and look really good, both from our side and working with our colleagues at Rally Estonia. We are honoured to be working with such a widely recognised organisation who have done so much great work in Estonia!”
Strikken has been using Robe products for some time and has LEDWash 300s LEDWash 800s, MMX Blades, Pointes and LEDBeam 100s in rental stock, as well as MegaPointes and 48 x LEDBeam 150s which were purchased at the end of 2019. Robe is their primary brand of moving light.
Rally Estonia has been a valued client for the last three years and everyone is looking forward to the 2021 event on 15th-18th July.
Photo: © Margus Vaher & Andre Lavadinho