Seminar: the importance of event lighting

The Serge Kampf les Fontaines Campus is a site steeped in history, ideal for creating superb lighting atmospheres tailored to the objectives of each of your business events.

Interview with Éric Matouk*, Stardust technical manager at Les Fontaines.

How would you define event lighting? 

"As the name suggests, lighting an event involves revealing, illuminating and sublimating the message the customer wishes to convey. It's an important element in the overall staging of the event.

In order to obtain the best possible rendering, you need to ask yourself a few essential questions beforehand:

• What is the purpose of the event? Good news/bad news? Team-building? Product promotion?
• What is the number of participants? Because you can't light a 10-person room like a 450-seat auditorium.
• What is the typology of the group? Age, gender, profession, nationality, ...

Once these elements are known, the work can really begin.

Lighting is in fact just a succession of details with very specific objectives: each atmosphere is meticulously crafted to reflect the overall image of the seminar or event. If, for example, you want a "fairytale" atmosphere for your seminar, the lighting will set the tone. We'll play with candelabra lights on tables, LEDs to mark out paths, or the reproduction of a starry sky indoors...".

Does the Les Fontaines site lend itself to atypical or grandiose lighting?

"Oh yes, of course! The site is ideal because it brings together in one place spaces that are totally different from one another. For me, the Les Fontaines site is a veritable theater of expression.

La Ferme Normande lends itself perfectly to a rural atmosphere, while the Château can be magical or mysterious, and the Forum auditorium is a space where you can play with high technology and create grandiose, out-of-the-ordinary presentations.

Knowing the site well, I'd say it has far more assets than constraints. The latter are ultimately limited to safety and the environmental impact of the project. We are very committed to a rigorous eco-responsible approach, and we take great care in selecting our equipment with the greatest possible care, in order to limit our energy impact."

What are your fondest memories of lighting the Fountains? 

There's no shortage of examples! I particularly enjoyed illuminating the château with a giant disco ball, suspended from the roof peak. The multicolored reflections cast a magical glow over the outdoor terraces.

The auditorium has often been the scene of great achievements for us, notably during an audiovisual immersion experience: the image, synchronized with the light, encircled the spectators at 280°. The result was breathtaking for all involved.

My colleague Sébastien also remembers a sound and light show the audiovisual team organized for a customer celebrating his company's 50th anniversary.

The team had pulsed the lake water to project images, like a natural open-air screen. Stunning! Light was everywhere: in the meadow, on the water, and in the form of a logo projected onto the castle walls. Like in the cinema and theater, the light scenography directs the eye and is a very striking artistic choice. That evening, the weather was misty, adding a touch of mystery to the impressive lighting ambience.

* In April 2018,STARDUST joined forces with Campus Serge Kampf Les Fontaines to offer its customers a prestigious audiovisual service, combining talent, creativity, innovation and professionalism.