Perched along the banks of the Danube river some 60 miles from the hustle and bustle of capital Belgrade, the city of Novi Sad has been traditionally renowned for its relaxed and welcoming character. In recent years, however, the local character of Novi Sad has expanded by a collection of locally hosted, but internationally renowned music festivals, including the infamous “Exit” and the Novi Sad jazz festival.

Another event putting Novi Sad on the musical map is the Green Love festival, an electronic Mecca attracting thousands of clubbing enthusiasts from Serbia and neighbouring countries such as Hungary, Croatia and Romania. For the most recent Green Love event, which saw DJs such as Metodi Hristov, Lea Dobričić and NUSHA take to the stage, AVL Projekt supplied Chameleon Rental with 16 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK1 Spot and 16 Maverick MK2 Wash luminaires for a spectacular installation with breathtaking looks.

To meet the demands of the large warehouse space, within which the 3,500 electronic music devotees were gathered, Chameleon positioned the Chauvet Professional Maverick fixtures high above the stage to shower the audience and stage alike with a potent mixture of spot and wash lighting effects. To provide punchy accentuations to the energetic DJ sets, the Maverick MK1 Spot fixture’s 350 W LED engine and effects such as a rotating gobo wheel, variable frost and 3-facet prism proved the perfect tool for the occasion.

“We were searching for a dedicated spot lighting fixture for Green Love for quite some time, but we didn’t find anything that fit the bill,” commented Chameleon’s Ivan Kršev. “But when we tried the MK1 Spot, we realised the fixture could fulfil all the requirements for a modern electronic festival: impressive light output, LED power, CMY optics and very precise step motors. Needless to say, we were very happy with its performance.”

While the Maverick MK1 Spot fixtures provided the necessary punch and energy required to support the various DJ sets, a blanket of immersive saturated colour was provided by a further 16 Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures within the rig.

“The MK2 Wash is such a strong wash fixture. The 40W LEDs provided intense colours and were incredibly bright,” continued Kršev. “Thanks to the vast coverage of the MK2 Wash, the lighting technicians were able to cover huge areas within the venue and bring the atmosphere totally in line with the music.”

Another crucial aspect for Chameleon Rental in selecting the Maverick fixtures for the Green Love festival was their versatile connectivity options. Given the large roster of control protocol with the existing fixtures on the lighting rig, it was essential that the Mavericks integrate seamlessly within it.

“When it comes to connectivity, we appreciated and utilised all of the Maverick’s connectivity protocols: DMX, sACN, Art-Net, Kling-Net and W-DMX,” continued Kršev. “We also found the possibility of using lighting fixtures in dual operation mode very useful. For example, we used some basic parameters such as tilt and pan via DMX protocol, whereas pixel mapping was controlled via Art-Net.”

Thanks to Chameleon’s decision to implement the Chauvet Professional Maverick spot and wash fixtures within the lighting rig, Green Love’s guests were able to enjoy the various sets within an all-encompassing visual spectacle. What’s more, with the success of Green Love adding yet another festival to Novi Sad’s roster, the city’s reputation as the new Balkan musical hotspot is well and truly confirmed.