Robe Pointes to 2017 Apologue Part 2 posted: 20/07/2018
Mirror-Mirror is a dynamic kinetic installation created by German lighting / visual artist and imagineer Christopher Bauder from WHITEvoid, featuring contemporary dancer and crossover artist Qiu Jirong and one of seven provocative stand-alone segments making up Apologue 2047/2, directed by Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor - and former cinematographer - Zhang Yimou.
The work was produced by L!VE Kingway at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing in June and will tour China in August allowing a wider audience to experience how Zhang Yimou breaks the form of traditional stage presentation by blending Chinese folk arts with modern technology, creating a unique performance concept in the process.
For Mirror-Mirror, Christopher utilised 30 x Robe Pointes as his primary lightsources, which worked in unison with 102 x KINETIC LIGHTS WinchLEDpixels and 34 x Mirror Disc lighting fixtures.
Each mirror is controlled by three winches which give 7 metres of up / down plus pan / tilt, so they can move incredibly smoothly on XY and Z axes making their movement fluid and three dimensional. The mirror movement is controlled via ArtNet by Kinetic Lights' proprietary KLC software platform and the whole system is networked.
Christopher devised a storyboard for the eight minute piece and completed a previsualisation of the kinetic elements which included moods emotions, feelings, atmospherics while Zhang Yimou and his team directed the overall show, composed the music, and both of them suggested certain positioning and chorography for the dancer.
It was an evolutionary process which suited the development of all movement - from the dancer to that of the mirrors and lighting technology.
The Pointes are arranged on ladders in three layers, each with five Pointes, running upstage / downstage. Utilizing these traditional dance performance lifting positions was one thing, but the technique was fully subverted with the mirrors which were able to bend, reflect and refract the light beams in any direction in mid air
Combining the side-rigged Pointes with the moving mirrors massively increased the flexibility of the precisely positioned lighting fixtures.
Christopher first worked with Zhang Yimou on Weaving Machine another large scale kinetic installation that was staged as one of the eight sections in Apologue Part 1, presented a year ago in the same venue. This involved 640 internally lit balls on the same winch system and a solo female dancer, Rose Alice from London.
This was very successful, so all eyes were on the second edition of 2047 Apologue. Christopher wanted to retain elements from Part 1 so the fluid, seamless movement of the mirrors via the custom winches were the continuity, and the experimentation came with the moving lights and treatment.
Bending and reflecting the lighting in this way with the mirrors is something he has crafted over a number of installations, notably earlier this year in SKALAR at Kraftwerk in Berlin, a cathedral-like former power station that provided an imposing industrial setting.
SKALAR was lit with 90 x Robe Pointes in conjunction with 65 x double sided mirrors - each with a perimeter ring of 180 addressable pixels - suspended on 195 of the WinchLEDpixels.
It achieved great critical and popular acclaim, and the Pointe was his first choice of beam light for that. However Christopher knew that there was still a huge amount of more imaginative scope using these adaptable fixtures, so he spec'd them again on Mirror-Mirror for their brightness, precision, intensity and the clarity of the lightsource.
In addition to the accuracy of the lighting cues we needed a light with highly calibrated colours that matched perfectly. It had to be a quick moving fixture easy to handle and programme and also readily available. This and the crispness of the emitted light made it perfect for the installation .
I really maxed out the Pointes on Mirror-Mirror he stated, We could vary the looks infinitely with different gobos, strobing effects, frosts, etc., adding that the biggest challenge at the NCPA had in fact been pumping enough haze into the performance area in three minutes as that was all they had for between segment changeovers.
DMX from the Pointes was converted from ArtNet and integrated into the computer running KINETIC LIGHTS proprietary KLC software where Christopher and his team programmed the lighting looks and scenes as well as all the mirror movements.
The luminaires were supplied by German rental company MOTION on a dry hire basis and will also be on the tour which visits Tianjin, Xi'an and Nanjing in August.
Christopher really enjoyed working with Zhang Yimou again. Their different creative backgrounds and mix of alternative cultural influences providing a real catalyst for some spectacular visual synergy.
As a master of performance entertainment and live storytelling, it was a huge privilege to work with Mr. Yimou, commented Christopher. As a former cameraman, he knows a lot about lighting and has very specific ideas about colour and texturing so I took that on-board with my programming of the Pointes and had a complete free rein with the mirrors. It was a very satisfying and educative way to work .
Yimou is also known for directing the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, and the Beijings eight-minute show at the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. For 2047 Apologue Part 2, his assistant director is Lulu He.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13 with guest ...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
04/12/2025
Lightware, a global specialist in AV connectivity, is looking back on a year defined by new advancements, strong collaboration and continued growth. Across the ...
04/12/2025
Riedel Communications today announced a new partnership with Haivision, a leading global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and visual col...
04/12/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann Engineering today announced a major milestone in their strategic collaboration, celebrating 20 successful broadband deployme...
Robe Pointes to 2017 Apologue Part 2 posted: 20/07/2018 
