A new and unconventional fixture from the ETC portfolio, the High End Systems Zeo has caught the eye of many lighting designers since its launch. Jean-Marie Guillerm, who designs the lighting for Matmatah, was one of the first to take the plunge, using it to light the band during their celebratory concert at the Accor Arena marking 30 years of the band’s career.
Jean-Marie, who has been working with the band for many years, says, "I was able to put together a superb lighting rig! The production team supported me on the project, and I was able to get everything I asked for."
And to top it all off, a week-long residency at the Dushow studio north of Paris allowed him to familiarize himself with the fixtures provided by the French supplier.
For this show, he was assisted by Vincent Haffemayer. "I'm not used to working in this type of venue, so I asked Vincent, who is more familiar with these large-scale productions, to help me manage the technical setup. This allowed me to concentrate on the lighting and ensure the technical aspects of such a show were properly handled."
For this lighting rig, Jean-Marie had spotted the Zeo on social media. After its initial use in the USA for the halftime show, the fixture was subsequently used at several concerts across the Atlantic. "I really liked its look and its unique beam, but I wanted to see it in action here."
Vincent, who was already in contact with ETC, having used the SolaFrame 3000 on Christophe Maé's last tour, contacted the manufacturer on Jean-Marie's behalf.
"He asked ETC France if the product was available anywhere, as I would have liked to use about thirty of them, but unfortunately the product wasn't yet available in Europe. However, the French subsidiary arranged with the other subsidiaries of the group to use the demo models available on the continent, in order to provide me with 12 units. I placed 10 of them on the lighting rig, so I had 2 spares, which is always useful with a product you're not familiar with, but I didn't need to use them."
Jean-Marie, who initially worked on his lighting design using Depence software, wanted to see the fixture's performance in person, and here too, ETC France answered the call.
"Depence is very precise for creating a lighting plan, but you can't see all the subtleties of the fixtures. Especially with such an unusual fixture like the Zeo. Moreover, since I planned to use it behind the LED screen, I really needed to test it. ETC lent me one for my tests, which was fantastic."
In the end, 10 fixtures played a central role in the lighting rig. Jean-Marie loved the built-in macros, which allowed him to access the effects he wanted to create very easily. The fixture blended with the camera feeds to add depth and integrate the entire lighting rig with the video, or sometimes operated independently for greater contrast. In both cases, their 30,000-lumen output added dynamic visuals to the show. There was no problem overpowering the LED screen when necessary.
The Zeo’s distinctive look provided a more pleasing aesthetic than a simple spot or pixel wash. We are excited to see where Zeo goes next!