Helpt Elkander - Moiré

An illusion by moving penals with stripes

On Corso Monday evening 2023, while enjoying some junk food, Rick and Thijs shared their thoughts about a possible new corso float. Those thoughts appeared almost identical. That could not be a coincidence! Less than a week later they were sitting at the drawing table to work out their ideas.  Next they asked Midas for advice and since then he is involved in the designing proces.

The young Helpt-Elkandrians were inspired by the Moiré-films: the moment that two patterns move across each other, resulting in a moving object. Rick: “With the movement we want to create a dynamic image of a horse race.” This way Helpt Elkander faces a challenge: four floats with a total length of 45 metres with the illusion of seven horsemen in a race on them. Thijs: “To strengthen the image the sound of galopping horses is added. And possibly still something extra to emphasize the race.”

The technical challenge was met with enthusiasm at Helpt Elkander. Since the design was approved they keep reflecting on the movement. The vertical strips become slats of six metres long and move over a rail that forms a track around the whole of the float. On the sides the jockeys are depicted on a white background of flowers. Midas: “The slats will be moving with a speed of about 30 centimetres a second by means of an electric motor.” Already proud the men look at the rail of the first float and summarize their ‘Moiré’:  The effect is the float and the float is the effect.”

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Tree debutants at Helpt Elkander: Rick van Bergen (24) and Thijs Löwenstein (19) were born and bred there. Rick examines the ultrasound of the heart at the university of Eindhoven and Thijs graduated this year as a software developer. Midas Overbeeke (24) came building at Helpt Elkander when asked by Rick. Midas is in his last year of the course mechatronics.

Original Dutch Text: Jeroen Vriends
Translation: Emile Wassenaar
Photo: Charles van Campenhout

Hamlet Helpt-Elkander
www.helptelkander.nl

This article is brought to you by Corsief. An independent magazine about corsos in general and the Zundert flower parade in particular. The magazine is produced entirely by volunteers, who are all more or less active in the Zundert flower parade world. Corsief is entirely full-colour and appears four times a year.