Highlite, a leading supplier of show, audio and light equipment, helped draw crowds to two Halloween-themed haunted houses at a European theme park, set up by Production Pirates.
For two weeks around Halloween, Production Pirates transformed Bellewaerde Park in Ieper, Belgium, into a Halloween immersion experience, with the two main attractions being the two haunted houses Funerarium and Mexican Massacre, both located in the park’s Mexican-themed sector.
The event was such a tremendous success that the public was asked to desist from attempting to attend the park over national radio, due to large traffic jams and queues.
Bellewaerde Park has a unique combination of animal presence and attractions. It is part of the Compagnie des Alpes company and is both an animal park and a theme park with a selection of coasters and rides. The park intended to make a major effort to offer something exceptional to their tourists for Halloween 2022. With a budget of €700.000, they confirmed their desire to showcase a noteworthy attraction.
Leading the project
Based in Herentals, Belgium, Production Pirates specialises in brand activations, event assistance, and show productions that necessitate a multi-sensory experience. Its staff has a strong history in the field with over ten years of expertise.
David Stuyck, creative captain, and Marc Broeders, operational captain, saw a commercial opportunity in the growing need for high-level entertainment development in theme parks.
Highlite is an international manufacturer and distributor of audio, show light, professional light, stage effects, video displays, and other entertainment requirements. This precisely fulfils the equipment criteria for creating an immersive experience.
Highlite manufactures and distributes thousands of various items in over 80 countries from its main warehouse in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, which covers more than 25,000 square metres and employs over 150 people.
“They are one of the biggest players in the field and bring the accompanying advantages, such as availability from stock and finding almost all products at one supplier,” says Broeders. “They also offer high-quality products and an excellent service. If something breaks, Highlite is quick to solve the issue.”
Expectation shifts
Music and theatre performances are becoming increasingly dynamic and stunning, and theme parks have been forced to make significant investments to avoid disappointing their tourists by falling behind in the degree of immersive entertainment that the audience is being treated to.
Stuyck says: “The 90s were all about bigger and faster coasters and the overall park experience wasn’t that prominent. Over the last decade, this has started to shift, and visitors have rising expectations of all-immersive experiences on really elevated levels, and many theme parks have already started new internal departments to take care of the entertainment and visitor experience side of the park.
“This is where Production Pirates shines. We know exactly what is needed to create the immersive experience our clients are looking for.”
Production Pirates developed and outfitted two Halloween haunted houses/mazes with an immersive experience for Bellewaerde Park.
Stuyck adds: “When we create a specific ambience in a zone, we have a vision. And in that vision, we use sound, light, and other effects for accents and ambience, which is where Highlite International’s products come into play.”
Tackling challenges
Both the issues of providing a high-quality immersive experience and prepping the park for opening after dark can be overcome with entertainment products. Light and music both play important roles in creating a sense of reality, especially in situations requiring a certain amount of ‘scare.’
Stuyck provides an example, saying: “A detailed décor is fine and all, but to level up the experience, high-quality sound and light effects are mandatory. For example, in Bellewaerde Park, visitors are given a remotely controlled portable lantern. At the crucial scare moment, the light is turned off, which will accentuate the light and audio effects of the attraction. This sensitises the senses and enhances the experience greatly.”
Broeders adds: “That’s where I come in and look for products with the right technical specifications, which I often find at Highlite.“
Broeders employed Highlite products not only for the two haunted houses, which were built wholly by Production Pirates but also throughout the park to create ambiences in different zones for the Halloween Bellewaerde project.
To regulate everything, he set media sources, amps, and loudspeakers for more than thirty sound zones, as well as numerous light fixtures and tens of kilometres of cable. Every fixture had to be individually adjustable (by DMX). Wentex Molton drapes were used extensively in the decor.
Providing safe scares
Featured on the list for this project were 60 Showtec Club Par 12/4 RGBW LED pars. These 25-degree fixed beam light fixtures may be controlled through DMX and contain 12 powerful four-colour LEDs as well as a double bracket for convenient floor positioning. These, for example, were employed to produce fire-like elements.
“But ambience lighting is not the only application!” Broeders says. “Highlite’s products often contribute to the safety measures in an attraction. We often have light fixtures do double duty as emergency lighting. In such a scenario, lights are set to output white light at full brightness.”
“For example, in the Bellewaerde Park haunted houses we have implemented a “scare” button, which the actors can press at the exact moment a “scare” or sequence of events needs to happen. Then, light, sound, and smoke create the experience.”
“What if an emergency arises during such an event? We have implemented a second control button which stops all actions and sets the light to white at 100% brightness and additional emergency instructions and/or announcements can be activated.”
“A big advantage of this is that small, local emergencies do not impact other zones and interrupt the experience and enjoyment of everyone in the attraction at that moment. This way, we can use the same equipment for both creating the experience and the safety measures, and thus, Highlite’s products play a key role in safety as well.”
This was made feasible with 12 Showtec DIM-4 dimmer packs and 12 Showtec RP-405 MKII relay packs, which converted conventional lights into DMX programmable lights, allowing complete control of all the lights.
Powerful audio
There are also 50 units of the DAP Xi-5 125-W RMS passive installation speaker on the list, which is a compact yet powerful sound source that adds to the immersive experience. Its 5.25″ woofer and 1″ Celestion high-frequency driver produce a powerful, clean, and detailed sound. To generate an eerie atmosphere, Broeders also ordered 12 Antari Z-1000 MKII fog machines from Highlite.
The show equipment recently met attendees at IAAPA Expo Europe in London, meeting with members of the entertainment and amusement sectors that Highlite have serviced for over 28 years.
Photos: Production Pirates
