Naostage’s K SYSTEM was utilised at the recent Montreux Comedy festival in Switzerland.
Montreux Comedy celebrated its 34th edition over ten days last November, welcoming more than 20,000 fans to be entertained by comedians including Fabien Olicard, Hakim Jemili, Redouane Bougheraba, Alexandre Kominek and Thaïs, to the Théâtre de Beaulieu in Lausanne.
In charge of illuminating these leading lights of comedy was Laurent Jaussi, Montreux Comedy’s long-time lighting designer, who trusted K SYSTEM for the first time at the 2023 festival, having been introduced to the system by Nicolas Oberson (of local Naostage partner streaming-live.me) earlier in the year.
From the outset, Jaussi was impressed, the LD recalled the ease of installation and quick learning curve to get up to speed with the system, as well as the support provided by Naostage during the festival. “It’s quick to install and set up, and the Naostage team are the best!” he highlighted. “I used a tracking system a long time ago, and here I really see a big difference in application and implementation. For us [as AVL technicians], it’s great to have people like Naostage who are ready to take automatic tracking technology further and push the boundaries of what it can do.”
K SYSTEM simplifies the process of creating immersive, interactive live experiences, by identifying and following performers in a defined tracking area, K SYSTEM makes it possible to automatically trigger AV, lighting or media effects in perfect sync with a live show or fixed installation.
“There’s an economic advantage, of course – because instead of having four operators, there’s only one behind the machine,” explained Jaussi. “But for me, the most exciting thing is the possibility of creating immersive experiences with zones of connected video, sound and light… As a creative, it’s something that suddenly opens doors to shows that are a bit ‘wow’.”
The full K SYSTEM, as supplied to Montreux Comedy, comprised three elements: KAPTA, a lightweight 3D sensor bar that scans in real-time; KORE, an AI computing unit that receives the sensor data and automatically detects, tracks and identifies people moving withing the tracking area; and KRATOS, a complete user software for project design and management, including interactions with external devices such as consoles and media servers.
As the Montreux Comedy team start work on its 35th event, Jaussi is thinking of other applications for Naostage’s technology, which is equally relevant for fixed installations, such as visitor attractions or immersive art exhibitions, as it is for large-scale concerts, theatre shows and comedy gigs.
“The test we did here was conclusive: K SYSTEM is flexible, dynamic, economic – all the “-ic” stuff! – and I’d love to use it on other projects,” he concluded. “For me, it opens up a whole new creative perspective.”
