Live Design: Verge Aero, the specialist in high performance drone light shows, has achieved an aerial first in Mexico, delivering the country’s first ever drone light show. Working with local partner Sky Precision, Verge Aero provided a system of 150 drone lights to create moving, color-changing pictures in the sky to open the performance by Dutch DJ Martin Garrix, marking Mexico’s Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) at the FIG19 hot-air balloon festival.
6 comments:
The single concept of a drone light show is so fascinating that it was alone responsible for me in reading this article, because the title itself got me very interested to read it.
We have, over the years, seen a lot of progress in the entertainment and visual arts fields, to the point that it is now almost taken for granted that a drone show is a possibility, and that too with such precision and beauty attached to it.
The visuals provided in the article about the festival that Verge Aero did is so gorgeous that I wish I was there to see such a feat in person and really feel the happiness and amazement that everyone else there felt, because I feel like that would have been an out-of-the-world experience. But I really hope that a lot more of such shows continue to happen in the future, getting better and bigger in scope and hopefully, I would be able to see it at some point.
Drone lights shows is a very interesting new concept for a show. Drones in general are very new and it has been interesting to see regulations on the robots come into play and change as the development of drones becomes more accessible and more transformative to society. It is also very interesting to hear that this is Mexico's first drone light show. I have never seen anything like this in America but I know it has been done. I am also curious to see the different regulations on drones between America and Mexico and how popular public drones are in Mexico. It is also wonderful to hear that this was a successful show. The fact that this festival is eager to work with the company who handled the drones, Verge Aero, is a great first step into evolving this technology for a entertainment aspect that can later develop bigger and better shows all across the world.
I am absolutely loving these drone light shows that have been popping up around the world this year. I saw one that went viral online on New Years Eve in Shanghai, and honestly just WOW. This technology is not necessarily new anymore, but it continues to seem very new-age to me. The things that people have created with it is baffling. I think that the context these drones were used in at this hot-air balloon festival is especially cool! Especially with Martin Garrix playing - the energy must have been infectious. It also must have truly been a sight to see, given that it was the first ever drone show performed in Mexico. The expansion of this technology is astounding, and as it appears around the world I hope artists and engineers take advantage of it to create something new. I also appreciate that safety was a huge concern of the organizers, as it is sometimes overlooked in the process of creating an awesome-to-look-at thing.
Drone shows have always fascinated me. Growing up, when drones suddenly exploded into popularity, I always wanted one. I would ask for them for the holidays and for my birthday. Alas, I never got one. My parents saw them as a nuisance. I understand why now, though. That being said, however, there are certain situations in which drones are more than acceptable, and this is a perfect example of that. Programming and coordinating all of the drones must have been an absolute logistical nightmare. I have no idea how the signals to all the drones don’t get mixed up, as I'm sure they are on a limited frequency band, and with so many drones, that would be difficult to sort out and not mix up. In addition to this, I feel like wind of any kind could be potentially catastrophic to the display. If a strong enough gust made one or more drone collide, that could ruin the whole show. I assume in addition to signal from the ground, each of the drone communicates its relative position to those around it. This could alleviate the danger of light breeze, but I still feel as if a strong gust could break everything down. However, this display obviously went on without a hitch, and was absolutely stunning.
I found this article interesting because it talks about technology we have already seen in the U.S, but is new to another country. Live drone shows are appearing more and more and while larger events like the Super Bowl last year and the past winter Olympics have pre-recorded their drone shows, nothing beats live. Two years ago now at Coachella, while Odesza was performing, Intel did a live drone show right above the stage. They started by drawing a UFO and then made the UFO "rain" little balls of light as if it was beaming someone up into it. And then they closed the show by forming Odesza's logo and making it rotate around. This was super fun to watch, and while it seemed a little bit like a gimmick, it worked. Not only did it give people something new and interesting to watch, it only enhanced the music, not distract from it.
Based on the picture shown in the article, the drone show in Mexico was something to behold with its unique use of technology and color. However, all I could think about when reading this article was what it indicates for the future of theatre. The theatre world is beginning to adapt to more and more different ideas as our technological world continues to expand. With drones becoming more popular and accessible (mostly), technicians and designers could start to brainstorm on how to bring the technology into a show. For outdoor shows, it would be easier to execute, indoor shows could prove to be more of a challenge. That doesn’t mean the idea should be completely written off. Drones can move quickly to create images and effects in all sorts of areas of the theatre. Not only that, but it could have a use for concerts as well. We’ve seen them used for film for camera work, so it would make sense for other media to follow suit. The show in Mexico may be the start of a whole new world of performance.
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