Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Astera Adds Magic to Bergstrasse Lights Project

23/10/2020

Astera Adds Magic to Bergstrasse Lights Project posted: 23/10/2020

Kirchberg H uschen

Seizing a chance to generate some beautiful light art, positive energy and creativity during the pandemic, Johannes Spie , project manager from technical specialist MKM Event Show Technik based in Darmstadt, Germany, launched a new initiative of his own - Bergstra e leuchtet' (Bergstra e Lights) - to highlight some of the famous Bergstra e mountain route's stunning monuments, historical buildings and public spaces. With events halted, normally busy rental company MKM had an abundance of lighting products including an extensive Astera inventory of AX3 LightDrops, AX5 TriplePARs and AX7 SpotLites sitting in the warehouse, so these were used to support all 12 of the lighting installations which were carefully crafted and delivered over a two month period.

Astera AX7s were used at all locations culminating with a truly spectacular and innovative event at St. Peter's church in Heppenheim.

Everyone in the area knows and loves the highlighted buildings and spaces, stated Johannes, and with tasteful and well-planned lighting and the application of colour they were transformed and could be seen literally in a different light' each time, so people could enjoy and take away new perspectives from their immediate environment.

Auerbacher Schloss

He adds that in a time when events have not been possible, this was a safe and imaginative idea to provide something interesting in which people could engage.

Astera products were of course ideal for the task of lighting these works, with their brightness, long and regulatable battery power and App control, dispensing with the need for running cables and greatly assisting the deployment process in each case.

The Astera lamps are very efficient in saving setup time, and with the AX7s and AX5s being IP65 rated, we were also confident in using them irrespective of the weather! Also, with less cabling needed, the team could take a smaller vehicle full of kit to the location.

Kirchberg H uschen

Up to 200 fixtures - Asteras plus others - were used in most cases to give good and detailed coverage of the buildings and landmarks.

It was so much fun to use the Asteras - they made the set ups extremely quick and efficient, enthuses Johannes.

A grandMA system was used for lighting control, plus the Astera App for quickly setting up the DMX addresses of all relevant Astera fixtures.

Lauter bridge and brook

Johannes was initially inspired to start Bergstrasse Lights by the original light it in red' project kicked off by the #NightofLightDE lighting action in June which saw thousands of buildings illuminated red across the country to draw attention to the challenges and realities facing the event industry during Covid-19.

He chatted to some industry friends and colleagues and everyone was up for creating something new, special and exciting for their community and those living and working in the region.

St Peter Heppenheim

A core team of around 20 people evolved to deliver Bergstra e Lights, including chief lighting designer Niklaus Baur, however the lighting schemes for each landmark were usually discussed by the team including Johannes, lighting operator Jan Gr bener and others before a final plan was devised.

The featured buildings were a dynamic mix! Castles like the imposing hilltop Auerbacher Schloss and the Starkenburg in Heppenheim which is also perched 300 metres above Hessische Staatsweing ter, offering stunning views all around; churches like St. Georg Bensheim and Kirche Zwingenberg; prominent houses and vineyards including the Kirchberg H uschen vineyard; the central bridge and creek in Lauter and both the town hall (Rathaus) and the city park in Heppenheim - each is a unique architectural or landscaped masterpiece in its own right.

St Peter Heppenheim

In addition to lighting these fabulous places for the first time, the project had several other special aspects.

Once up and running and gaining traction via the website https://bergstrasse-leuchtet.de/ and various social channels no-one knew where and when the next illumination would take place,so this element of surprise and anticipation kept people engaged and guessing!

To discover the location, some hints were dropped on Bergstrasse Lights' Facebook and Instagram pages, plus additional clues announced on public radio station hr3.

St Peter Heppenheim Photo

The finale at St. Peter's church in Heppenheim was a favourite installation for all on the team where the lighting count doubled to over 400 fixtures in total, of which more than 220 were Astera - a combination of AX3s, AX5s and AX7s connected via five wireless DMX transmitters.

Often referred to as the Cathedral of the Bergstrasse' the idea was to maximise the impact of this event, so a special concert was staged inside featuring the band Lichtenberg with camera images of the performance projected onto the church's front fa ade for socially distanced onlookers.

Starkenburg Heppenheim

The concert was also streamed on three different Facebook Fanpages - Bergstra e leuchtet, the City's and the band's - as well as on YouTube and on the Bergstra e leuchtet website.

And a series of secret' live-streamed concerts were produced at some of the locations - so Johannes and the team had multiple ways of getting the content in front of people.

The concert livestream concept was trailed for the first illumination at Auerbacher Schloss with the band As far as Low' and intended as a one-off. However, the public response was so overwhelmingly positive that Gregor Ott from GVO Media went on to produce seven concert movies from these spontaneous livestreams (i.e. not revealed in advance) accompanying some of the most dramatic installations.

Starkenburg Heppenheim

MKM Event Sh
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/cultural-events/astera-adds-magic-...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

31/03/2026

Nielsen data shows NZ retail brands are changing strategies to win over outdoor enthusiasts

Rebel Sport leads ad investment as brands compete for a large, active and qualit...

31/03/2026

Spectrum TV App to Launch on Amazon Fire TV Devices

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

CueScript to Showcase Innovations at NAB that Add Mobilit...

CueScript, a leading international developer of professional teleprompting solutions, is enhancing its platform with three innovations that elevate flexibility,...

31/03/2026

GALSNGEAR Returns to the 2026 NAB Show with Expanded Meet...

#GALSNGEAR will host a series of meetups, panel discussions, and networking events during the 2026 NAB Show, taking place April 18 22 in Las Vegas. The organi...

31/03/2026

Imagine Introduces AI Assisted Scheduling at 2026 NAB Sho...

At the 2026 NAB Show (April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth #N1328), Imagine Communications is introducing AI assisted scheduling capabilities within ...

31/03/2026

PSSI boosts live sports flexibility and security with the...

High-density upgrade for mobile fleet and PSSI International Teleport gives PSSI more flexibility for premium live event coverage PSSI and Appear today announc...

31/03/2026

Solid State Logic Enhances Virtualized System T Platform to Deliver Scalable Cloud and On-Prem Production for NAB 2026

Solid State Logic Enhances Virtualized System T Platform to Deliver Scalable Clo...

31/03/2026

OWC to Showcase Storage, Workflow Acceleration, and Reliability Solutions for Creatives and Post-Production Professionals at NAB 2026

OWC to Showcase Storage, Workflow Acceleration, and Reliability Solutions for Cr...

31/03/2026

PSSI Taps Appear X for Live Coverage of FIFA World Cup

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business...

OpenDrives, a leader in software-defined video and rich media storage management solutions, will demonstrate several new innovations at the 2026 NAB Show in Apr...

31/03/2026

SDVI to Showcase Platform Enhancements New Technology Int...

At the 2026 NAB Show, SDVI will demonstrate how its Rally media supply chain management platform continues to give media operations teams the tools they need to...

31/03/2026

Boland Communications Introduces QD4K315HDR10 QD-OLED Ser...

Boland Communications today announced that at the 2026 NAB Show, it will introduce its new QD4K315HDR10, a 31.5-inch QD-OLED monitor delivering exceptional colo...

31/03/2026

NUGEN Audio CEO Dr Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About...

Dr. Paul Tapper, CEO of NUGEN Audio, will lead an essential industry discussion at the 2026 NAB Show, examining whether dialog intelligibility is poised to beco...

31/03/2026

BCNEXXT at NAB 2026 - Turning Industry Pressure into Oppo...

BCNEXXT will use NAB 2026 to focus on how broadcasters can turn today's operational and market pressures into opportunity. Meeting with customers in the IAB...

31/03/2026

Mediagenix Showcases Semantic Intelligence Powered Title...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase its latest innovations at th...

31/03/2026

DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP C...

DHD announces that AI-based audio noise reduction is now available as a powerful new option for its XD3 IP Core. Developed in cooperation with ai-coustics, audi...

31/03/2026

PTZOptics to showcase intelligent video and camera contro...

PTZOptics will showcase its vision for intelligent video and advanced camera automation at NAB Show 2026 (#N1902). Through immersive demonstrations and technolo...

31/03/2026

Experience Commerce Wins Social Media Mandate for ICONIQA...

Experience Commerce, a leading full-service digital marketing agency and part of the Cheil SWA Group, has secured the social media mandate for ICONIQA Hotels & ...

31/03/2026

Fabric to Showcase Cloud-Native Origin Platform and Next-...

Fabric, the entertainment industry's leader in data and operations solutions, will showcase a major expansion of its media technology platform at NAB 2026, ...

31/03/2026

Boland Communications Introduces New QD-OLED Series Monitors

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

Carr Warns NFL Over Streaming Rights, Consumer Costs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

Farhan Khan Appointed FCC Chief Information Officer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

Federal Judge Pauses Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

Boris FX Acquires Vegas Pro, Sound Forge, and Acid Pro

Boris FX Acquires Vegas Pro, Sound Forge, and Acid Pro Jessie Electa Petrov March 30, 2026 0 Comments The acclaimed VFX developer bolsters its award-w...

31/03/2026

Berklee India Exchange Presents Anirudh Varma Collective

Berklee India Exchange Presents Anirudh Varma Collective The collective will present a workshop on Hindustani classical music and a concert in collaboration w...

31/03/2026

The Federal Archives of Germany use their DFT Polar HQ Film Scanners for Flagship Project Metropolis

31. March 2026 News DFT is pleased to announce that three Polar HQ scanners...

31/03/2026

United Utilities hits major milestone as 200,000 smart meters installed

United Utilities has reached a significant milestone in its smart metering programme after installing more than 200,000 in the last twelve months. Over the nex...

31/03/2026

Efficiency at Scale: NVIDIA, Energy Leaders Accelerating PowerFlexible AI Factories to Fortify the Grid

CERAWeek - dubbed the Davos of energy - is where policymakers, producers, techno...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Manifold to Demonstrate 400GbE COTS FPGA Support

Manifold Technologies, a Germany-based provider of cloud infrastructure for live broadcast production, will demonstrate support for 400GbE COTS FPGA accelerator...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Boland Communications Introduces QD-OLED Series Monitors

Boland Communications will introduce its QD4K315HDR10, a 31.5-inch QD-OLED monitor, at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3519, April 18-22). The company is also introducing...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: PTZOptics to Showcase Move 4K and Horizon Platform

PTZOptics will demonstrate its Move 4K PTZ cameras and Horizon web-based control platform at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1902). Move 4K with Horizon is now available...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight to Showcase Updated Nimbra Edge

Net Insight will demonstrate the next version of Nimbra Edge, its orchestration and control layer for live media services across multi-domain environments, at N...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Appear to Showcase Live Production Processing

Appear ASA will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W1531, April 19-22, Las Vegas). The company completed an IPO in November 2025. Our customer-first approach is ...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Harmonic Announces New Live Sports Streaming Capabilities

Harmonic has announced new capabilities for its sports streaming platform, covering multiview, programmatic advertising, in-stream advertising, and content wate...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Ateme to Showcase GenAI, Agentic AI, and Streaming

Ateme (Booth W1723) will demonstrate broadcast, streaming, and AI-driven media workflow solutions at NAB Show 2026. GenAI and Agentic AI Ateme will demonstrat...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Bitmovin's Player Web X Adds Advertising Support, Vertical Video, and Proprietary ABR Algorithm

Bitmovin has announced new capabilities for Player Web X, its web video player, ...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Brazil's Minister of Communications and FCC Commissioner To Speak

The 2026 NAB Show (April 18-22, exhibits April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center) will host Brazil's Minister of Communications, Frederico de Siqueira Filh...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: EVS To Showcase Expanded Live Production Ecosystem

EVS will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1841), highlighting new products and updates across its live production portfolio, including the debut of T-Motion med...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Solid State Logic To Demonstrate Expanded Virtual System T Platform

Solid State Logic will demonstrate its virtualized System T platform at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C6907). Demonstrations will include the VTE1 virtual DSP engine, ne...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Globecast To Showcase Managed Media Services Approach

Globecast will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W3335), highlighting its hybrid service model spanning satellite, IP, fiber, and cloud. The company will demonst...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: IP Showcase Returns as IPMX Moves to Deployment

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), and the Video Services Forum (VSF) have announced that the IP Showcase w...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: BBright To Demonstrate Single-Stream ST 2110 Playout

At NAB Show 2026 BBright will present a demonstration of its One Stream for the World concept, showing how a single ST 2110 playout stream can simultaneously ...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: OpenDrives To Demonstrate New Storage and Edge Products

OpenDrives will demonstrate new products at NAB Show 2026, with two locations in the West Hall: a pod (W3443-E) in the Sports Business Hub and a cabana at W1158...

30/03/2026

Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Hosts 90th Master Tournament With Host Terry Gannon

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...

30/03/2026

Op-Ed: Preparing for Agentic AI in Live Sports

The economics of live sports streaming have changed. New rights models, cloud production tools, and lower-cost distribution have made it possible for high schoo...