Drones for concerts and festivals
Celesta, service provider cultural venues.
The drone arrives in a flight path plotted by others, between two sets, in a slot that has already shifted three times. Celesta designs flight paths that adapt to this reality rather than ignoring it.
The gap
A show that commands, or a moment that fits in
Most pieces are written as if they were the only ones in the world: a curtain-raiser, a finale, a movement all of their own. At a festival, all of that already belongs to someone else.
The stand-up show
When the swarm is on its own
- He sets the time and duration.
- He gets the total black he asked for.
- The audience is seated, facing him.
- He opens and closes the evening.
- His driving is the driving.
Festival time
When it is inserted
- His slot depends on the programme, which is running late.
- Black is a matter of negotiation, and rarely lasts long.
- The audience is standing, moving about, and watching the stage.
- It supports an artist; it does not replace them.
- Its operations are aligned with those of the production control.
The cultural sector
The partner of the stages and the performing arts.
The Ministry of Culture’s mapping exercise identifies more than seven thousand such venues in France, nearly two-thirds of which are involved in the performing arts. Each has its own seating capacity, stage and night-time restrictions: the programme is drawn up on that basis, never from a catalogue.
01
Programme coordinators and artistic directors
Contemporary music, electronic music, street arts, seasonal highlights. The performance opens the festival, brings it to a close or showcases the headliner, without ever upstaging them.
02
Producers, cinemas and tour organisers
Tour, one-off performance, residency: the production is designed with both the filming and the live performance in mind, and is staged identically from one city to the next.
03
Local authorities and cultural institutions
Season openings, town anniversaries, heritage festivals. The copy is tailored to the local narrative and is discussed with the relevant departments well in advance of the event.
04
Heritage and outdoor sites
Castles, monuments, courtyards and gardens. This is where drones really come into their own: they cause no fallout and do not require a wider safety perimeter around the surrounding area, which would be prohibited by open flames.
Achievements
Skies like Celesta’s has already written
Each record specifies the venue, the production and what was performed during the run. They are added here as and when performances take place.
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Pyrotechnic display featuring drones in Buchy
View the project: Pyrotechnic display featuring drones in BuchyA demonstration to showcase the new hybrid formats In Buchy, Celesta organised a technical demonstration combining a pyrotechnic display and…
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Marly-le-Roi Town Festival: A Drone Show and Fireworks Display
View the project: Marly-le-Roi Town Festival: A Drone Show and Fireworks DisplayA town celebration in the heart of a royal park The Fête de Marly returns every June to the grounds…
The six constraints
What a set requires to a swarm
These six points never arise in a stand-alone show. Yet they determine the outcome, and Celesta addresses them during the writing process rather than on the night of the performance.
01
The car isn’t yours
It is your production control team that gives the go-ahead, not Celesta. The flight must therefore depart on command, and not at a time specified in the programme.
02
The market is changing
If a flight is delayed or a return journey takes longer than expected, Celesta anticipates it. Celesta plans a flight whose departure time is brought forward without the need to rebook anything.
03
The stage lighting overwhelms the LEDs
Spotlights trained at the sky disperse a swarm in a second. The lighting effects are agreed with the lighting designer before a single figure is drawn.
04
The pit is upright and mobile
A seated audience has a fixed position. A pit moves, becomes denser and alters the safety distances during the flight itself.
05
Silence cannot be heard
The argument about the drone being silent is meaningless when there’s a festival sound system playing. What matters here is that there is no fallout over a dense crowd.
06
Cameras come first
Filming, giant screens, filming drones: the airspace is shared. Celesta coordinates with the production team before submitting its application.
The method
The festival programme initially on order
Six steps. The first three are carried out with your production control team, well before any moves are even considered.
01
The sequence of events
Celesta analyses your itinerary before writing it up: who is travelling first, who is travelling next, and how many minutes the flight actually has.
02
Black
The timing of when the spotlights go out is to be agreed with the lighting designer. Without this, no one can be seen: that is the condition, not a mere detail.
03
Writing
A festival performance by Celesta is short and intense. It creates a powerful image in the space of a few minutes, then hands the spotlight back to the stage.
04
The file
SORA risk analysis, submitted to the DGAC, the prefecture and the site operator. The visualisation is reviewed at this stage.
05
The rehearsal
A test on the actual site, carried out in conjunction with your production control centre, to check that the system activates and retracts correctly. The wind threshold is set at that level.
06
Live coverage
The flight departs on the instructions of production control. Our operators remain in contact with them throughout the performance.
The deciding factor
Without black, there’s no show
That’s the first question Celesta asks – and the one we most often forget to ask: for how many seconds are you willing to switch off the stage?
A swarm of Celesta drones is visible against a dark sky. Uplighters, a giant illuminated screen or an LED wall at the back of the stage are enough to make them disappear. The answer to this question determines the duration of the flight, its altitude and even the number of drones.
Festival highlights
What you need to know before discussing it with your production control department
An event is planned months in advance and airspace is shared. Here are the four key points that Celesta sets out right from the first meeting.
What a festival entails
Key points
Time required prior to publication, including case review
2 to 3 months
Useful duration of a flight inserted into a flight path
5 to 8 minutes
The timing of when the spotlights are switched off is to be agreed with the lighting designer
Essential
Coordination with the visual production team and the production control team
Understood
Drone light show: from
€10,000
The cost then depends on the number of units, which is determined by the distance between the pit and the flight zone.
Let’s talk about your edition
Tell us about your experience, We’ll tell you where the flight is
Please provide us with the venue, the date and the provisional programme. Within 48 hours, you’ll receive a letter of intent and a detailed quotation, signed by a Celesta technician rather than a sales representative. If the proposed time slot doesn’t allow for the necessary blackout, we’ll let you know before providing a quote.
Before you ring us
The questions raised by the programme planners
How long does a festival flight take?
Five to eight minutes, rarely more. A swarm inserted into a pipe must establish its image and then restore the view of the scene: any longer than that, and it competes with the artist rather than serving him.
Do we really need to cut to black?
Yes, at least the spotlights pointing skywards. Drone LEDs are no match for a wall of light: unless they’re switched off, the audience sees faint dots instead of a figure. Celesta discusses this with your lighting designer before writing the piece.
What happens if the set falls behind schedule?
It’s no big deal, provided the flight was arranged for that purpose. Departure is at the discretion of production control, not at a fixed time. That is precisely what distinguishes a festival flight from a standalone show.
Is it possible to fly over a pit whilst standing?
Subject to conditions. Flying over an audience falls under a specific category of European Regulation 2019/947 and requires a dedicated risk assessment. A mobile pit requires wider buffer zones than a seated audience.
Can we draw the name of the edition or an artist?
Yes, and that’s what the swarm does best. A shape or a name can be read from across the entire esplanade and is filmed: that’s the one thing a fireworks display can’t do.
How does this tie in with the filming?
The airspace is shared with filming drones. Celesta reviews your production footage before submitting the application, and the flight paths are agreed upon jointly.