Endurance test on the large ski jumping hill

Cameo OTOS H5 provide strong beam looks at the Ski Jumping World Cup in Willingen

When the world’s ski jumping elite compete on the Mühlenkopfschanze in Willingen at the beginning of February, top-class sport meets a location that can only be described with superlatives. The world’s largest ski jumping hill has been a fixture of the FIS World Cup calendar for decades and was once again transformed into a winter event arena for thousands of fans and the numerous TV cameras on site this year. To ensure that the atmosphere and staging were just right to complement the jumps, the full-service provider MW-Event from Korbach used a flexible show lighting setup. The Cameo OTOS H5 beam spot wash hybrid moving heads took centre stage, creating striking beam structures and TV-ready images on the ski jump.

Performance at the limit

Willingen showed its most challenging side during the World Cup weekend. Large temperature fluctuations, snowfall, constant rain and humidity levels of over 90 per cent in some places gave rise to conditions in which even tried-and-tested technology can quickly reach its limits. This is precisely where the OTOS H5 really came into its own: thanks to IP65 certification, no additional domes or weather protection solutions were required.

MW-Event Managing Director Stefan Müller sums up the decision in favour of the OTOS H5: “At major outdoor events like this, we often work in extreme weather conditions and place the highest demands on material reliability. It is crucial for us to be able to rely on our technology at all times. When no additional weather protection solutions are required, production becomes much more efficient for us. With Cameo as a partner, we are very well positioned in this respect.”

“At major outdoor events like this, we often work in extreme weather conditions and place the highest demands on material reliability. [...] With Cameo as a partner, we are very well positioned in this respect.”
Stefan Müller, CEO MW-Event

Beams for fans and cameras

In addition to robustness, visual impact was also a decisive factor. The lighting concept was designed by Steven Goetz, who was responsible for project management together with Stefan Müller. Fabian Lahme was responsible for the creative and operational realisation on site. The brief: a show light that visualises the atmosphere in the stadium and meets the high demands of a modern sports TV production. Precise, clearly defined beams are an effective design tool for adding depth, structure and dynamism to images, especially in fog and difficult visibility conditions.

“The output power and precision of the beams helped us to create great images for both the audience on site and the TV cameras, even with poor visibility and in very heavy fog,” explains Fabian Lahme. In addition, the Cameo setup remained stable throughout: “Despite the adverse weather conditions before and during the ski jumping weekend and the constant change between frost and thaw, there were no outages.”

“The output power and precision of the beams helped us to create great images for both the audience on site and the TV cameras, even with poor visibility and in very heavy fog.”
Fabian Lahme, Freelance Lighting Operator

With their hybrid concept, the OTOS H5s combine beam, spot and wash characteristics in a single device, offering precisely the flexibility required for changing scenes, camera angles and live atmospheres. In Willingen, the focus was primarily on powerful beam structures and far-reaching looks that remain clearly visible on the ski jump even over long distances.