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    Packapalooza Runs With CHAUVET Professional

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    RALEIGH, NC – An impressive Romanesque structure that reaches over 115’ high, the Memorial Bell Tower defines the heart of the North Carolina State University campus. After athletic victories by the school’s “Wolfpack” teams and at other major events, the tower is bathed in brilliant NCSU red. However, during one big celebration at the start of the 2015 school year, the giant tower stood by colorlessly as if in admiration of a more spectacular lighting display. The riveting lightshow that overshadowed the tower and captivated a crowd of 50,000 on the campus’ main square was created by LD Daniel “Tebo” Thibault, using a collection of LED fixtures anchored by the Rogue R2 Wash and COLORado2-Quad Zoom Tour from CHAUVET Professional.

    Working for Alpha Production Group, Thibault drew on the color and intense output of the LED fixtures to create a commanding visual aura around the 40’ x 40’ “Bell Tower Stage” at Packapalooza, an annual festival/block party for students and locals to welcome in the school year. I’ve used the COLORados and Rogues at a lot of events over the past year and I’ve come to rely on them for giving me really bright colorful looks,” said the LD. “This is a big outdoor festival that started in the afternoon and went well into the evening, so I really had to go bold with the lighting in the day and colorful at night.”

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    This year’s Packapalooza was built around a “Hip Hop Time Machine” theme and featured North Carolina State alum rapper Rapsody. She was joined on stage by other rappers with roots and connections to the Tar Heel State, including Southern alternative wonders Nappy Roots, who performed their hit “Good Day,” North Carolina native Petey Pablo, and Terminator X, formerly of the Grammy-nominated Public Enemy.

    The CHAUVET Professional fixtures provided the visual energy to keep up with the performances on stage, said Thibault, who controlled his rig with a grandMA2 on a PC setup. Flown on back and mid-stage truss and spaced evenly, the COLORado 2-Quad Zoom Tours were used to backlight the performers. The Rogue fixtures were positioned on front truss to help fill the front wash and add color tone to the front lighting. The fast-moving LED heads were also swung out to do double duty as moving blinders.

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    “In some places on the rig, I subbed out a Rogue for a COLORado on the mid-stage truss to give me some movement capabilities, which allowed me to make specials and area washes,” said Thibault. “The rig was flown the day of the event and run in the daylight, so it was hard to do a focus – so what was really good was that the Rogues killed it for me by being able to fill in the holes we missed.”

    Thibault also appreciated being able to match the colors between the COLORados and Rogues. “I love using the different Chauvet fixtures together,” he said. “The colors and the dimming curves match wonderfully and it makes for some great looks. It also gives me more freedom when designing, since I don’t have to worry about the lights meshing.”

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    After Packapalooza ended and the stage was torn down and Thibault’s lighting rig was packed and moved away, the NC State campus returned to normal and the Memorial Tower was ready be bathed in red light again, as the Wolfpack resumed another football season. For one night though, the “legend in stone,” as the big tower is often called, took a back seat to a legendary lighting design created with a dynamic LED package.

     

    For more information on Alpha Production Group visit www.alphaproductiongroup.com

    For more information on Daniel Thibault visit www.liastudios.com

    Now Showing – STRIKE 4 brings the lightning!

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    The CHAUVET Professional video team does their magic again!  Check out this amazing video featuring the new STRIKE 4.  The STRIKE 4 is a new blinder from CHAUVET Professional that will change the way you think about using blinder effects in your productions.  Check this out!

     

     

    Monday Morning Zen – Missing a Cue

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    A millisecond early, a millisecond late, you hit GO at the wrong time. You know it, the performer on stage knows it, and unfortunately, so does the sound guy. Inevitably, you get the cold sweat feeling on your back and the knot in the pit of your stomach is growing. You are already anticipating the conversation at the end of the show between you and whomever and you are not looking forward to it.

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    If you can identify with the above, relax, you are completely human and we have all been there. The key is how to recover. You have to let go of the bad energy as quickly as it came up. You have to remember that this is live and there is no going back, so deal with the present. Move on and keep going. Don’t let one bad cue wreck the rest of your otherwise excellent show.

    I am not sure why, but people in our line of work tend to be perfectionists. We accept nothing but the best and are down on ourselves when we deliver anything but. The mark of a true professional is not the mistake that happened, but how we deal with it. There is saying that I have heard often and it goes something like this, “I have messed up way more important shows than this!” The point of this saying is not to belittle the show you are working on, but to give yourself perspective.

    So, go forth and produce amazing light shows. Do your best to hit GO at the right time, but don’t be too hard on yourself when you miss it by a millisecond or two.

    Monday Morning Zen – Design Block

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    Monday Morning Zen – Design Block

    Design block happens to us all. Knowing how to get past it is really important, especially when the show you are programming is going to happen with or without your amazing light show. For me, this is something that typically happens when I am exhausted, stressed out, or have simply just hit the wall. But instead of talking about the causes, let’s talk about some work around ideas that might help you out when you feel most blocked.

     

    Take a walk – Sometimes it is a matter of getting up from behind the desk and taking a walk. Go outside and get some fresh air. When I was programming on cruise ships I found it really helpful to get up and go outside once in a while and take a break. I found this especially important when we were programming production shows. Taking breaks is good, but leaving the room for a while is even better. This helps you to remember that there is a world outside of the room you are working in. Getting fresh air back in your body and letting your eyes see something besides the desk and your rig can make a world of difference in helping you get past the rough spots.

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    Eat something – When you are programming for long stretches, you can forget to do things like eating. Lack of energy can really do a number on your mental state. Go and grab a snack. However, I strongly recommend not eating at the desk. Force yourself to get up and move. Take a look at the previous point. Sitting at the desk and eating only allows you to grab a quick snack. Taking a snack break away from the desk allows you to re-focus on something completely different from the show you are programming. I like apples because they don’t need to be kept cool, they are easy for your body to break down and you get the energy quickly.

     

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    Change the subject – It often helps to let your mind wander and focus on something else because it is easy for our brains to get locked into a loop and block you from getting your ideas out. In these situations, I might check my Facebook to see what else is going on in the world or what is new on the CHAUVET Professional page, or I might listen to music that has nothing to do with the show I am programming. Sometimes it is just a matter of focusing on something different for a while and letting your brain reset to allow the good ideas to come back.

     

    Get some rest – If you are on a longer programming gig, sometimes you just have to save your show and go get some sleep. After 10 to 12 hours of programming, it all starts to look and sound the same. This is a cue that sleep is in order. If you are doing one of those dreaded shows where you load in the day before, program all night, and then have the show the following day, sleep seems like something that you dreamed about last week. I know that last sentence made no sense, but trust me, when you are that tired, it will. Being awake and running for 15 to 20 hours (or more) is not uncommon in our industry. In those situations, I highly recommend cat naps. Find a quiet place and crash for 20 minutes. It does not replace a full night’s sleep, but it is better than nothing. Keep in mind that caffeine and energy drinks do not replace sleep. As a matter of fact, they can make design block even worse.

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    Plow through it – Sometimes, there is no choice but to plow through. No one likes it, but it is a necessary evil and a skill you need to have. In this situation, when you are totally blocked up, but you have to finish, go back to the basics of design. Make sure that your act is lit well with your three point lighting, and hit the dynamics of the music you are designing to. It may not be your most inspired work, but at least the portion of the show you are working on will be done and you can always touch up later. On top of that, sometimes when you are using this method, the elements start to fall into place and your brain will come back to life.

     

    Design block is all in your mind, but since your mind is what is designing the show, you have to find a way to get past it. There are a lot of different ways to do this, but the above are the ones that work for me. I hope it works for you too. If you have some things that work for you, share them with us! We would love to hear from you!

    CHAUVET Enlivens European Elvis Event

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    Nottingham, UK– (For Immediate Release) — Elvis Presley has been gone for the best part of four decades, but his legend is very much still alive. As one of the most successful artists of all time, the King of Rock and Roll, reluctant movie star and performer extraordinaire has something of an untouchable legacy. Although Las Vegas, – which saw Elvis perform a whopping 635 times — is the place most synonymous with his exuberant and energetic shows, the city of Blackpool (fittingly, the so-called Las Vegas of Northern England), has been hosting one of Europe’s premier Elvis contests, which this year featured an appropriately glitzy lightshow featuring high-impact LED fixtures from CHAUVET Professional.

     

    The fourth annual Europe’s Tribute to Elvis, which took place in Blackpool’s iconic 19th century Empress Ballroom, gave aspiring Kings of Rock and Roll the chance to qualify for a trip to the Elvis Tribute Artist Contest finals in Memphis. Arran Paul Audio, which has handled lighting and audio for the event in the past, was tasked with creating the design for the 2015 edition of the contest. LD and Engineer Ollie Wilkinson called on a collection of Chauvet fixtures to create something of a fresh Elvis experience for the audience during the three-day event.

     

    “As the event is becoming one of the most popular Elvis competitions in the world, we knew that we needed to step the game up this year, and of course, our Chauvet fixtures didn’t let us down,” said Wilkinson.

     

    All in all, Wilkinson incorporated 16 Q-Wash 560Z-LED fixtures and eight Next NXT-1 moving LED panels from CHAUVET Professional, as well as three MotionOrbs, four Geyser RGB LED foggers and eight PiXPar 24 par-style fixtures from CHAUVET DJ into his show design.

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    “When you see Elvis tribute shows around the world, there’s usually a big upstage E.L.V.I.S sign in lights,” continued Wilkinson. “I didn’t want to go for that typical look, so we played about with the thought of using separate Elvis letters in gobos on the downstage truss. After some thought we had the idea to use our Chauvet NEXT NXT-1 fixtures to spell ELVIS across the truss, along with other supporting acts such as the legendary Suzi Quatro, who also graced the stage.”

     

    While the NXT-1s enabled Wilkinson to create something a little different from what one would usually expect to find at an Elvis show, another tradition was at the forefront of his lighting considerations.

     

    “It became obvious to me when designing the rig that the world of Elvis was very black and white when it came to colour and contrast,” continued Wilkinson. “It’s rather difficult to keep the audience engaged with different temperatures of white, so I had to be very careful when washing the stage with primary colours and using gobos etc.” As a solution, Wilkinson resorted to using a lot of pastels in the design, using both the NXTs and the 560Zs. He continued: “I could go from a primary red to a lavender wash very easily just by adding an extra bit of white into my palette.”

     

    Wilkinson positioned eight CHAUVET Professional 560Z fixtures on a flown truss in the centre of the ballroom for a full band wash, as well as painting the extravagant 100-year-old chandelier clad ceiling with colour. A further eight fixtures were positioned on the upstage truss to give a back wash, and also to wash the white wall at the back of the stage. Significantly, Wilkinson married the 560Zs with the three MotionOrbs, which adorned the back wall.

     

    “As the whole event was being filmed, I placed the MotionOrbs against the white upstage wall to give a sense of colour and depth to the stage on camera. This provided a good amount of eye candy while keeping intensity to a suitable level.” He continued: “The MotionOrbs combined with the 560Zs really created a complementary look, and looked especially impacting on camera.”

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    To add extra snippets of wash light at crucial moments during the set to illuminate various members of the band, Wilkinson added eight CHAUVET PiXPar 24s to the roster of lighting fixtures. “The Chauvet PiXPar 24 is my alternative wash fixture when power and dimming is limited. Although the output is stunning, for this show I didn’t have to compromise all of my front wash. I could then still use some of the flown fixtures to light the cat walk and roof when needed.”

     

    Complementing the grandiose aura of Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom, Wilkinson’s final touch to the stage involved creating atmospheric effects with eight Chauvet Geyser RGBs positioned alongside the catwalk, which protruded from the front of the stage. The Geyser RGBs, which produce large volumes of water-based fog illuminated by colourful LED lighting, had the expected huge impact on the show.

     

    “The Geysers never fail to impress,” continued Wilkinson. “The Geysers are my favourite alternative to Pyro by far. Not only did they give the audience that ‘wow’ factor, they were a worthy accompaniment to the awards, presentations and performances that were scattered throughout the event.”

     

    While the King may no longer be around, with events such as Europe’s tribute to Elvis keeping his spirit alive, it’s little wonder that Elvis’ popularity refuses to wane. “It was a fantastic production to be involved with.” Concluded Wilkinson: “The Chauvet fixtures were essential to helping me recreate that electric atmosphere synonymous with Elvis performances.”

    Lighting fit for a Queen – Light Show Video!!!

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    As we have been discussing the Queen Mary 2 celebration of the 175th year of Cunard’s tradition of trans-Atlantic ocean crossings, we wanted to make sure you actually saw the show so you could see why we were so excited about it.   Check out this amazing show and make sure you have the volume up so you can see and hear every bit of this experience that we are so proud to have the Legend 230SR Beam chosen to be a part of.

     

     

    Monday Morning Zen – Zen in the Art of Lighting Part 3

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    This is the last in the series, but fear not, there will be more coming!

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET® Professional 

    I can remember sitting in the audience during a show on one of the ships I was auditing.  There was a banjo player on stage and he was working on creating a mood. He was trying to create the image of sitting on his grandfather’s front porch in the evening learning how to play the banjo.  All of a sudden, every single moving light in the rig started doing a ballyhoo In Technicolor.  It looked like a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. The mental image was destroyed for the audience and the banjo player was about as mad as a banjo player can get. The point is that in a situation like this, one can accomplish more with less. More often than not, this applies.

    In the above case, I have to think that the programmer simply lost their mind for a minute. Clearly, they were not thinking about the talent onstage. Or how to serve the show best. In a stage show, such as a rock concert, or even on a cruise ship, you have a ton of lights in the rig because you have to be able to create tons of different looks.

    A rock show is completely different from the straight play I wrote about before. One of the great things about moving lights is that you can position them wherever you want with the roll of a wheel, a slide of a fader, or a stroke of a key. The basic principles of front, side, top, down, and back lighting still apply. However, now it is ok to add in a little flavor—BUT ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. For a great lesson in this, I highly recommend checking out the U2 concert video for Rattle and Hum. Largely shot in black and white, you can clearly see how certain songs call for strong beams of light to position down onto each member of the band at certain times. The end result is absolutely stunning.  Some of my favorite looks are just simple shafts of light coming from asymmetrical positions. I really like to have odd angles coming in from at least two positions. If you have good spot light operators, it is even better!

    Moving lights can also lend themselves to becoming an evil temptation. Yep, they move, change color at the blink of an eye, and you can even drop in a gobo. For some programmers, this is like putting a Twinkie in front of the sound guy. Just because a light has a particular function, it does not mean you have to use it every cue. Once I discovered the move-in-black function on the Wholehog® II, it was like someone gave me the key to life. I learned how to use moving lights as a conventional light (conventional lights are lights that don’t move, have one color in them, and are focused to a specified location). Now, I could make these big “statement” looks like I saw in all of these concerts I had seen before. I was also able to effectively use the tools at hand and create a Zen-like state in my shows.  It gave me the subtle lighting show that I wanted to have without having distractions. I found that I was much more at peace with the whole process once I figured out that you don’t have to overdo it.

    Another important part in the Zen of programming is that you, as a programmer and designer, must be in a place in your mind where you are at peace. You must be clear of mind so that you can make good choices. In order to be clear of mind, you must know what you are programming and for what type of show. Know your act and know your audience. If you are doing a Rush show, go big with big beam looks and excitement. If you are doing something that calls for an intimate design, then that is what you should do…create a mood. Becoming part of the environment is critical to this. (I am not saying to become the lights, but hey, who am I to argue if you do?) The goal should be to feel at ease with your lights. If you watch a true master of design and programming at work, it looks easy. A true Zen master will be so in-tune with what is going on around them that they are completely aware of their surroundings. For me, if I am able to, I will video tape a rehearsal and work from it. This gives me the ability to design and program without the act there if I have to. This way, I don’t have the pressure of having to rush to get my looks down. I also try to be alone. Too often, people who are “just trying to help” will really ruin your Zen thing. Turn off the cell phone, put on your headphones and get into your zone.

    Keep in mind as you go, “Does this look natural?”  How does the color reflect the mood of the subject? Is the lighting conveying this mood? Should this be a sharp beam effect or diffused? Does this call for a gobo breakup? Do I need a strobe light hit here? Every lighting change must be motivated. I can remember hearing over and over in acting class, “What is your motivation?”  Well, what is it?  Is there a change in the action that calls for you to write a cue? Did your principal actor just cross from stage right to stage left? Did your band just change tempo? Was there a murder on stage? If the answer is yes, then write a cue. If there is no change in action on stage, then there is no need. I’m sorry, but “Because it’s in the script” typically is not good enough and may need to be challenged. So challenge it. Wisely.

    Now go forth, young Grasshopper, there is nothing more to teach today.

    Lush Cosmetics Celebrates 20 Years in Style with CHAUVET Professional

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    (Nottingham, UK) Growing from a small local shop to a hugely successful international enterprise in the space of two decades is not easy. Achieving this success while advancing and upholding deeply held ethical principles makes the accomplishment all the more noteworthy. Management at Lush Cosmetics recognized this, which is why they wanted to make their company’s 20th anniversary celebration stand out. That’s precisely what they did, thanks to some help from Presentation Design Services and a collection of fixtures from CHAUVET Professional.

     

    Lush Cosmetics first appeared on high streets throughout the UK in the mid 1990’s. In the ensuing years, the organic beauty merchant has carved out a well-deserved reputation for quality handmade beauty products, all the while upholding the ethics-conscious principles of fair trade and protecting animal rights.

     

    In celebration of this 20-year milestone, Lush Cosmetics drew once again upon the support of longstanding event production company Presentation Design Services (PDS) to provide full production support to the event. In addition to designing and building the custom manufactured set, which featured around 200 reclaimed pallets, PDS, as customary, called upon their extensive array of CHAUVET Professional fixtures to empower the event with a magnificent visual aesthetic.

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    “Once again, CHAUVET Professional fixtures played a key part in our production design for the Lush Cosmetics event – one of our longstanding clients,” commented James Johnson, Project Manager at PDS.

     

    With over 2,000 people attending the two-day conference at the BIC venue in Bournemouth, England, Lush required a sizable amount of visual support to create an event worthy of a 20th anniversary celebration.

     

    “We supplied 254 Chauvet PVP S5 LED panels to create a video wall, which was split into three different screens,” enthused Johnson. “The main central screen played a key part in the set design, consisting of 190 panels, and the two side screens mainly showed live camera feed and VTs to further engage the audience. Thanks to the pin sharp PVP panels, we were able to build quite a spectacle for the Lush presentations.”

     

    One of the other key lighting fixtures employed by Johnson and his team were CHAUVET Professional Nexus 7×7 panels. Having utilised the Nexus 7×7 fixtures for their sharp warm white focused beams on several Lush events previously, Johnson and his team have certainly found a great tool to create a certain concert-esque atmosphere inside what is essentially a corporate event.

     

    “The stars of the show were, hands down, the Nexus 7×7 panels,” conceded Johnson. “We employed the Nexus fixtures to back light the pallet wall. The superb colour temperature and punchy beams provided an excellent solution to back lighting the reclaimed pallet wall.”

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    Also making an appearance at the event was the usual raft of CHAUVET Professional fixtures from the extensive PDS arsenal, including several CHAUVET Professional Rogue R1 Spots and Beams. “While spots were used as gobo washes across the set and stage, the beams were added to really create that classic performance look for the various performing bands throughout the event,” commented Johnson.

     

    “Thanks to our CHAUVET Professional fixtures, we were able to create a versatile and varied palette for the Lush conference,” concluded Johnson. “It was certainly an event fit for a 20th anniversary.”

    CHAUVET Professional and ILUMINARC Colorize Stage Sculptures At Glastonbury

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    2015-06-28 Glastonbury - The Who (19)

    PILTON, UK – (For Immediate Release) –There’s a reason why Spotify has ranked The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (or, Glastonbury, as it is commonly known) as the world’s most influential music festival. Over its 45-year history, the outdoor gathering has played host to a diverse pantheon of stars, from The Rolling Stones to Dolly Parton — not to mention Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, U2, Metallica and more. This year was no exception with the likes of Florence + The Machine, Pharrell Williams and The Who bringing it to the Pyramid Main Stage. Naturally all eyes were on these stars as they performed, but attention was also focused on an inspiring structure that towered over the iconic stage and glittered in the light from a collection of CHAUVET Professional and ILUMINARC LED fixtures.

     

    Created by Joe Rush’s Mutoid Waste Company, the structure Peace Time Flies was a giant metallic winged clock that spanned the entire breadth of the Pyramid stage and captured the free, uninhibited and hopeful spirit that defines Glastonbury. This connection between stage sculpture and festival is not surprising. Rush, who achieved notoriety for groundbreaking works like “Carhenge” (a Stonehenge made from old vehicles), began showcasing his work at the Glastonbury 30 years ago. In 2015, the London artist demonstrated that his creative fires still burn with a fierce convention-defying intensity by creating a multitude of senses shuttering works of art, including Peace Time Flies, which symbolizes the hope that the time of peace at Glastonbury could be spread throughout the world.

    photo courtesy of Jason Bryant and Martin Audio

    photo courtesy of Jason Bryant and Martin Audio

    A sweeping sculpture supporting a soaring and noble ambition required bold lighting. This is exactly what was provided by the Iluminarc Colorist Panel 36Qa, which is packed with 36 15-watt RGBA LEDs that radiate bright and vibrant color washes, and the CHAUVET Professional COLORado 1-Quad IP par-style RGBW fixture. A total of nine of the Colorist panels and six of the LED parts were used to direct colored light at the Peace Time Flies. The rich colors of this collection of fixtures animated the sculpture, amplifying the artist’s suggestion of flight, while the intensity of their output ensured that the sculpture would be visible throughout the sprawling grounds.

     

    Another Rush sculpture stirred equally strong emotions at Glastonbury. Sitting on the top of the Other Stage, the second largest stage at the festival, his Pagan Crown depicted a multi-pointed pagan headdress intertwined with a ram, gazelle and stag horns surrounding a giant pearl. ILUMINARC fixtures were also called upon to accent this structure. This work was illuminated by two Iluminarc Colorist Panel 36Qa panels and eight Iluminarc Colorist Panel 8Qa 15-watt RGBW LED panels. In addition to giving the Pagan Crown an added sense of depth, the fixtures lend a mysterious air to the work with their darker blue and green colored washes.

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    Although Glastonbury will always be known and revered for its musical pedigree, it’s the seemingly endless supply of installations, art projects and theatre that really give the festival such broad scope and appeal to people of all ages and tastes. As one of the key non-musical staples to consistently grace Glastonbury, the work of Joe Rush’s Mutoid Waste Company is an essential guardian of this reputation. This year, CHAUVET Professional and ILUMINARC LED fixtures helped this breakthrough artist fulfill his mission in even more brilliant fashion.