STAGE TECHNOLOGY
MOVECAT
Move heaven
and earth
The result of a collaboration with
the scientific advisors of the
Vatican Museums and realized by
Artainment Worldwide Shows,
Giudizio Universale (Italian for
The Last Judgement) tells the story of
Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel.
It is an immersive voyage into the Sistine Chapel,
conceived and directed by Marco Balich, that
combines theater, technology, music and special
effects. The aim of Giudizio Universale is to
enable visitors to immerse themselves fully in
the marvels of the Sistine Chapel, the traditional
setting for the Conclave (the election of the new
Pope) and home to some of the world’s most
famous and beautiful frescos.
Star of the show
The protagonist of the piece is the Sistine Chapel
itself. Visitors are guided through the history of
its creation, from Pope Julius II commissioning
the frescos adorning the vault, to the realization
of The Last Judgement on the wall behind the
altar. This is followed by a re-enactment of a
papal election. The 60-minute production ends
with The Last Judgement being brought to life
around the audience. Balich uses scenery,
installations and even 270° projections to tell
the story, accompanied by an ambitious
soundtrack that saw him collaborate with
top artists, including Sting.
Acting on behalf of Marco Balich and the
Vatican, Giandomenico Barbon – the technical
director of Creative System – opted for a kinetic
system from dynamic stage technology specialist
Movecat. Movecat Italy stepped in at short notice
to partner the project and succeeded in assuring
its timely execution, despite the tight schedule
and the diverse technical challenges.
Integration challenges
Among the objects to be moved and positioned
were scenery, turntables and walls. Part of the
challenge involved the integration of third-party
products and encoders into the Movecat system.
To control the system, Barbon chose the new
Movecat Expert-T III system controller in
conjunction with the Movecat I-Motion NMB-14
network master box. Among the other
components used were Movecat V-Motion-30-ESIL
3 and V-Motion-40-E-SIL3 variable motion
power packs and Movecat CB-PMC-HV-P-C
A new immersive experience telling the
story of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel required
sensitivity to tradition, ingenious stage
technology and a speedy installation
110 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE