Holy Night in Dresden – Cameo illuminates the 2024 Great Advent Concert in the Rudolf Harbig Stadium

A few days before Christmas, the annual “Great Advent Concert” took place in Dresden’s Rudolf Harbig Stadium. In front of nearly 20,000 spectators (and one million TV viewers), star tenor Rolando Villazón hosted a festive evening filled with international choirs, orchestras, and a variety of celebrity guest appearances. With project manager Alexander Zobel in charge, SAM Production GmbH was responsible for the open-air production’s technical staging, which used Cameo lights for most of the lighting.

Weatherproof light set-up

Sub-zero temperatures, sleet, and blustery gusts of wind are always a given for open-air productions in the depths of December. That’s why SAM Production exclusively relies on weatherproof Cameo light models with IP65 certification – from the compact, battery-powered ZENIT B60 PAR Light to the ZENIT W600 LED Wash Lights and the ORON H2 Hybrid Phosphor Laser Moving Head. “We’ve had many Cameo products in our inventory for quite some time and regularly invest in new models,” explains Alexander Zobel from SAM Production. “There are also plenty of partners here in the region through whom we can rent additional units to outfit a production facility of this size.”

Since the Great Advent Concert was also to be broadcast live on TV, SAM Production worked with lighting cameraman Jens Schreiber in the run-up to and during the show to not only adjust the lighting design for the spectators in the stadium but also for the TV cameras.

Flexible lighting design

“Warm lighting design that also translates well on television is important,” explains Jens Schreiber. “This requires precise tuning of the colour temperatures between the images that the visitors see in the stadium and the camera images for the TV viewers. Additionally, there is the colour and content coordination between the light and the (video) content.” Furthermore, attention was given to creating a lighting design that works on any scale: “The on-site audience always sees the full shot, whereas the TV audience only sees a section of the camera. We always have to consider this balancing act when designing the lighting and selecting the lights.”

”The lighting design in three words? Festive, powerful, yet full of variety.”
Alexander Zobel, Technical Manager, SAM Production

Jens Schreiber has been working with Cameo for many years and draws particular attention to the ZENIT series in this context: “The series has been consistently and purposefully developed over the years – from mere LED floodlights to the SMD models, which offer even more possibilities.” With well over 100 units, the ZENIT W600 plays a key role in festive lighting design: “The ZENIT W600 is used both for flexible ambient lighting as well as for high-quality TV lighting,” explains Alexander Zobel. Furthermore, the ZENIT W600 SMD provides classic blinder effects and also won over the SAM Production team during the programming phase with its pixel control options. The ZENIT B60s act as a backlight for the camera image and are completely controlled wirelessly via the integrated W-DMX receiver.

Hybrid show requirements

“The ORON H2 is definitely the highlight of this year’s lighting rig,” confirms Alexander Zobel. A total of 24 units of the world’s first IP65 hybrid moving head with phosphor laser light source produce powerful, razor-sharp mid-air beams that stand out both in the stadium and on TV. Jens Schreiber is also impressed by the ORON H2: “The laser engine reproduces the colours really well, and the beams have plenty of punch. The ORON H2 thus helps us to manage the balancing act between a festive atmosphere and a vibrant beam show based on the music act.”