Behind the scenes: David Jansen, chief technician
Every year, Amsterdam Light Festival sheds new light on the city. But how do we make sure that the light artworks are ready to shine; day in, day out -come rain or snow?
That is the question that has been keeping David Jansen, chief technician at the festival, busy for the last couple of years: “In the meantime, we’ve gathered a lot of experience and knowledge, but light art remains very fragile.” We have a special team that focusses on malfunctions, while also making sure that every work is switched on late in the afternoon, and switched off at night. If an artwork requires maintenance, we schedule it during the day so we can make sure it will be able to shine brightly at night.
"Light art remains very fragile"
Jansen uses the Event Dashboard by Event Engineers which can be used to monitor and start equipment at a distance. “We can switch on the light artworks that use a timer, but it operates well with the artworks that are in constant connection with a computer as well. We have a perfect overview of the current status of all the artworks” says Jansen.