07.05.24
Automate the Mime et l’Etoile show, Puy du Fou
The latest addition to the famous European theme park Puy du Fou, the Mime et l’Étoile show gives voice to the so-called Belle Époque. In the early days of cinema, spectators watch the making of a silent film unfold before their very eyes.
A technological challenge
In a 3800m2 theatre specially built to host the show, human-scale sets, numerous pieces of machinery, lighting, sound and videomapping all come together to make Le Mime et l’Étoile a true technical challenge.
In April 2023, the first performances will begin of a show with complex scenography that will be performed up to 8 times a day. Automation project manager Martin De Gaillard explains that the main challenge for a production of this scale is tracking. Indeed, it’s a show that needs control room automation to offer visitors a quality show every time, while limiting human intervention. What’s more, given the number of operators on the show, it would have been too complicated to assign characters to targets.
Furthermore, for operational reasons, the show requires a reliable system with low maintenance requirements, as well as responsive support that is attentive to the needs of the show during its development phase.
K SYSTEM as the answer
K SYSTEM detects the positions of the performers as soon as they enter the stage, and sends them to the third-party systems involved in creating the magic of the show.
For lighting, the data is sent to a grandMA console for automatic light tracking. For sound, an L-ISA immersive sound system from L-Acoustics also receives the 3D information, enabling spatialized sound, the key to an immersive experience in this 2,000-seat auditorium.
K SYSTEM also sends this information to a Modulo Pi media server and to the show control, a Medialon from 7thSense, which communicates back to K SYSTEM to create scenarios based on the characters identified throughout the show using Eliko UWB beacons.
Thanks to K SYSTEM, tracking does not require technicians to carry out the tracking manually, a solution too costly and unthinkable for such a complex show.
The artists now have complete freedom of movement, ensuring that the show reflects the Puy du Fou’s tradition of grandiose historical spectacles and breathtaking scenic reconstructions.
