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Ayrton supports “Zillion” premiere

October 2022 saw the release of the film “Zillion”, an account of the club in Antwerp, Belgium that became “the” place to be in the late ’90’s. Created by Frank Verstraeten, Zillion included all the things Verstraeten felt other clubs lacked, particularly in the visual element.

Using the most technologically advanced fixtures of the time, his club boasted moving lights, atmospheric lighting FX and elements of a budding AV phenomena. As the owner of the rental company Pixelbeam, Verstraeten now has a big fleet of Ayrton fixtures from which he supplied 250 fixtures to The Creative Factory (TCF) to get creative with on a series of parties that accompanied the film’s release.

The series of parties began with an “avant-premiere”, the day before the film’s official release, attended by the cast and a wealth of Belgian celebrities, industry professionals and guests who filled fifteen halls of the cinema for a simultaneous showing, before being swept to the Zillion-style after-party at Waagnatie in Antwerp.

Robbie Boone from Face, Ayrton’s exclusive Belgian distributor, describes the after-party layout at Waagnatie: “The scene was set on entry with Zillion eye-catchers, video clips from the film, and a Ferrari as a central feature in the foyer representing Frank’s decadent lifestyle. 24 MagicPanel 602 and NandoBeam S3 fixtures lit the Ferrari echoing the ’90’s look.”

“The main party hall was surrounded by a VIP balcony and featured a DJ stage playing music of the time, erotic dancers and a vibe that carried more than hints of what partying in Zillion was like”, continues Boone. “Cobra was used in large numbers in the main hall, rigged on overhead trusses above the dance floor and on the balcony fronts, mainly for their strong-contrast beams and extensive gobo choices. They were very plentiful (sixty in total) so they could create dance-like effects.”

Alongside the sixty Cobras were 26 Perseo Beams acting as side light, 62 MagicDot Rs lighting the VIP balconies and providing additional aerial effects, and forty of the new Domino LT (Long Throw) upwardly projecting from the front of the stage to create fan shapes either side of the DJ booth; another cluster of Domino LTs was sited on top of the drinks’ bars on either side of the stage for aerial effects and gobo looks.

Verstraeten also wanted the Zonda 9 FX in the mix, as Boone explains: “There are 38 Zondas in the design - all of which are rigged in an oval cluster above the DJ booth on the main stage. Together these are used as a wash light, an FX light and as an eye-catcher. Frank also designed video graphics for the Zonda fixtures, including the ‘69’ part of the Zillion logo which he ran through the pixels and the LiquidEffects on the Zonda face.”

The Zillion parties will continue in major locations across multiple cities from February 2023.

(Photos: Frank Lambrechts/Picturesk)

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