supercrossover

sxlx

WARNING: Much of the action depicted in this feature is potentially
dangerous. To achieve this thrill, contact a fully qualified lighting designer.

Thrill seekers and rabble-rousers are the true forefathers of the motocross sport. Back in the 1950s, when Bert Greeves’ unorthodox motorcycles were parked outside every mary-jane hazed party in London, riders started taking Greeves’ bikes across the merry fields of England. As is always the case, the great fun couldn’t remain secret and soon people from other countries wanted to get in on the action. A Swede named Torsten Hallman embraced not only the sport of motocross, but also the mass-appeal potential. In 1966, Hallman introduced motocross to the States for the first time.

Belgian supremo Roger DeCoster took the sport to an entirely new level. Pushing both man and machine, DeCoster showed the lack of limits that were accessible to man through the course of riding. The Americans caught on to this new challenge and set about mastering it. With a century of marketing experience behind them, the Americans promoted the sport throughout the 1980s, using masters Johnny O’Mara, Ricky Johnson and Jeff Ward as spokesmen. Repackaged as supercross, the sport has morphed into an arena spectacle. Crowds of over 50,000 attend the meets, where men (in Europe) and teens (US) reach airborne heights of over 10 meters.

It isn’t the States that will take supercross into the future, though, in terms of lighting. The French have taken the task of creating an arena lighting spectacle very seriously and are doing it with great effect. For all the razzmatazz and money purses normally associated with USA sports, surprisingly the big purses and races are taking place at the annual SX events held at Bercy Stadium in Paris.

Out of all of the events held at Bercy, the Paris Supercross is the biggest draw. To put that into perspective, imagine if the Dallas Supercross filled more seats at Texas Stadium than a Dallas Cowboy’s football game. Make
no mistake about it – the World Supercross Championship plays to sold-out
crowds, which is lucrative for the riders and promoters. It’s nice to see that
the rest of the world is hot on the trail of good old American capitalism.

Equipment that the Omnisport Stadium in Bercy uses to package:

the sound and lighting show
videos sold to supercross fans
broadcast to local TV networks
relay to audience on the other side.

Numerical Video Control Room
1 Numerical mixer Telecom switchable 4/3 & 16/9. 42 inputs. Numerical
input & ouput 270Mbits.
13 Cameras THOMSON:
3 1657 (4/3 – 16/9)
3 1657 (Sportcam 4/3 – 16/9)
7 1657
1 VCR AMPEX 1 pouce C type VPR 3
1 VCR PANASONIC DIGITAL D5
5 BETA SP SONY BVW 75
2 Numerical BETA
1 Special effects generator QUESTECH CHARISMA
1 Character generator QUANTA delta double channel
1 Graphics tablet GETRIS with statistic interface
1 Assembly stand BE 2000 SONY 56 INTERFACE MACHINES
1 Video data entry scan SONY, Transcoder PAL/SECAM VHS
tristandards
2 LSM (audio) included one SLSM
1 Hard disc recorder PROFILE PDR 100 (4 channels)
8 Format converter (4/3 – 16/9, & 16/9 – 4/3)

Audio Control Room
Sound control panel SOLID STATE LOGIC 5600
32 Inputs, 9 principal stereo starts, 12 auxiliary starts
24 Inputs/Multitrack exit
all types of micros (NEUMAN, SHOEPS, SEINHEISER, AGK)
1 Synchronizer LYNX 3 machines
1 VCR 6.25 TASCAM
1 Time code audio SYNCODE 8 pistes
1 DD 1000 AKAi

Outside Link
17 Optical fibers SERTE (5 transmitting stations, 12 receiving units, stereo
sound)

Lighting Instruments
56 Rembrandt MSR 4KW c/w mechanized horse on electronic telescope
with a vertical movement of 12 meters

Video Back Projector
Philips Vidiwall

Contact
J-L Machu
J-M Toffolon
Bercy Video
8 Boulevard de Bercy
75012 Paris
t [33 1] 40 02 60 62
f [33 1] 43 43 38 38