NEW YORK – (For Immediate Release) – The iconic Cunard Line was looking for a way to celebrate the 175th anniversary of its first transatlantic crossing, when Kelly Easterling approached the company with an idea that was outside the box — or perhaps more aptly outside the ship! Easterling, the creative director and principal designer at Quantum Theatricals, proposed creating a dynamic lightshow set to music off the side of the 1,132’ Queen Mary 2, the company’s flagship ocean liner. Much to the delight of the massive crowd in New York harbor on July 14, this is precisely what he and his dedicated team wound up doing with help from 50 intensely bright Legend 230SR Beams from CHAUVET Professional.
The 230-watt Legends were the only fixtures used on the ocean liner for the magnificent lighting display. (Four other movers were on shore as part of the show.) Positioned on the railings of the port side promenade deck, the fixtures cast rapidly moving and vividly colored beams across New York harbor and into the sky during the 8-minute show, which began at 9:30 in the evening as the ship held position in front of the Statue of Liberty.
“It was an impressive sight,” said Easterling. “Our goal was to celebrate the rich history of Cunard and point ahead to its exciting future with a show that was as breathtaking and majestic as the famous ships that sailed under the Cunard banner. We produced the show for two perspectives: the passengers aboard the ship and the people gathered in Battery Park in lower Manhattan. We saw it as a ballet of light choreographed to a sweeping musical score. The show received an incredible response!”
Kelly and his lighting designer Richard Chamblin counted on the intense output (96,000 lux at 15 meters) of the 50 Legend 230SR fixtures to create an impactful display for their light-and-music ballet in a “theater” that was really one of the world’s largest harbors.
“One of the biggest challenges in this project was the distance of the ship relative to Battery Park where the crowd gathered,” said Chamblin. “When this project was being developed we knew the ship would be anywhere from a quarter to a half mile off shore. With that kind of distance we wanted to make sure that the lights would be bright enough to stand out. The biggest deciding factor for us in choosing this fixture was its brightness. The Legend 230SR easily out performs its competitors in lumen output.”
The LDs also singled out the Legend 230SR Beam’s 8-facet prism for creating vivid, colorful looks on the harbor’s nearly black night water. “We relied heavily on the Legend’s prisms during the show,” said Chamblin. “At the distance we were using the lights, gobos and zooming features aren’t what’s called for — but the prisms in these fixtures created some really nice looks when we used the water as a palette to illuminate.”
Overcoming the distance between the ship and the onshore audience was only one of the challenges that Quantum Theatricals faced when pulling off this historic project, which Easterling and his team began working on in March. “When we presented the idea of creating this show, the Cunard executives were very intrigued,” said Easterling. “However everyone was wondering if it could be done. There was a tremendous amount of conversation and research undertaken to ensure that we would have the necessary time and money.”
Among the biggest challenges faced by the design team was to ensure that the lightshow, which was timed using SMPTE time code on the ship, and the music sound tracks at Battery Park would be triggered at exactly the same moments. “We couldn’t run a cable from the park to the ship – and streaming SMPTE was not reliable enough,” said Easterling. “So we commissioned a custom GPS triggering system that utilized GPS time clocks to trigger the start of the show both on land and on the ship at the exact same moment in time. The clock sent a trigger to the control consoles on the ship and in the park at precisely the same time, so we wound up with the lighting effects on the Queen Mary 2 being perfectly synchronized with the soundtrack at Battery Park.”
The New York appearance of the Queen Mary 2 marked the final stop in a three-country tour that celebrated Cunard’s 175th anniversary. Retracing the July 1840 journey of the company’s original RMS Britannia, the QM2 began its crossing at South Hampton, then stopped in Liverpool before setting forth to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then on to Boston and New York.
Capping off this transatlantic journey with an amazing nighttime spectacle required an incredible degree of coordination before the first Legend 230SR Beams were ever turned on. Among the agencies that cooperated to make the show possible were the US and Canadian Customs, The US Coast Guard, the City of New York, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Given that the lumen output of the Chauvet fixtures was so high, we were required to contact the FAA at JFK moments prior to the performance to get clearance and then contact them again following the show to notify them that we had finished,” said Easterling. “This was done so that the Air Traffic Control Tower could notify any aircraft in the area of the show and warn them of the bright moving lights. Additionally, we worked closely with Cunard’s UK team to develop a marine plan that detailed the exact longitude and latitude of the ship for the show, which was then approved in advance by local and federal agencies.”
Like any project of this magnitude, the Cunard 175th Anniversary required a tremendous team effort. “We’re all quite grateful to our Canadian Production Manager Shaw Fortis, who really coordinated the gear and logistics. His insight and guidance kept the show on track and on budget,” said Easterling. “Solotech and Christie handled our Canadian rentals (we loaded the show onto the ship in Halifax), and WorldStage handled the shore-side support in New York. All of these companies were splendid to work with. Finally, Earlybird Visual took care of our pre-visualization of the show and did stellar work.”
After the anniversary celebration, the Queen Mary 2 sailed out of New York harbor while Easterling, Chamblin and the rest of the Quantum Theatricals team took a step back to appreciate what they had accomplished. “When you’re in the middle of the project you’re too preoccupied with things,” said Easterling, “Now I love looking at the photos and videos of that night.” Apparently a lot of other people do too. Shortly after the celebration ended, an image of the Legends in action on the Queen Mary 2 was the number one photo in the Huffington Post’s “Pictures From Around The World.”
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Recording contracts and stadium concerts are great, but in this era of YouTube and music streaming, a lot of bands are doing just fine without them. Playing everything from jam to jangle and emo to post hardcore, these grass roots groups are building sizable fan bases by purveying their music online and touring like crazy.
Often playing 100 or more gigs a year in venues that rarely exceed 2000 capacity, a new generation of road warrior bands have created a renaissance of live grass roots music, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the coffee house era of the 1960s. In the process, they’ve also created new opportunities for lighting designers. As children of a highly visual age, they almost always place a premium on having a distinctive look on stage with a lightshow that is uniquely their own.
New York lighting designer Victor Zeiser of Squeek Lights has chalked up plenty of miles working with touring bands, having designed for some of the most successful like Grammy winners They Might Be Giants and Canadian cult favorite Silverstein, to some lesser known groups. Zeiser, who also keeps busy as the LD for the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, shared his thoughts on designing for the new generation of traveling troubadours…Read the rest!
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA– By any measure, the Mediatech Africa 2015 Advanced Technology Trade Show was an outstanding success for Audiosure. The South African company drew large appreciative crowds to see its extensive collection of audio and AV products as well as lighting from CHAUVET Professional and CHAUVET DJ.
However, beyond being drawn by the opportunity to get their hands on some of the latest gear, show visitors were stopped in their tracks by an eye-popping lightshow Audiosure created using a collection of CHAUVET Professional fixtures.
Designed by Sean Crawley with the assistance of Stefan Van Der Walt, the show at the Audiosure stand drew on the intense output of 16 pixel-mapped Nexus 4×4 LED panels to display blinding breakout patterns and stunningly bright text. Adding to the visual feast was the sweeping light from 30 ultra-fast Rogue moving fixtures. The new Strike 4 blinder pumped up the intensity level even higher, as did four Next NXT-1 moving LED panels flown on the rig’s truss. A group of eight COLORado 2-Quad Zoom IP fixtures washed the booth in a rich array of colors during the show.
“The lightshow at the Audiosure stand was really quite special,” said
Stéphane Gressier, International Sales Director of Chauvet. “It really showed how lighting can transform a space, especially when in the hands of talents like Sean and Stefan. We’ve always believed that the best way for anyone to appreciate what our lights can accomplish is to see them in action. This enthusiastic response to the show at the Audiosure stand certainly proved this point.”
This is a re-post from a few years ago. We just re-read it and thought it was fitting for Monday Morning Zen
Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET® Professional
“I know nothing, but you know less. Together, we will learn and become Masters.” ~ Michael Thomas, Bartender and friend 1995
When you start working on a show, you walk in a blank slate. You know nothing of what the show will be. Often times, the people who hired you don’t know either. When I started as a bar-back in 1995 at Elwood’s Dixie BBQ in Delray Beach Fla., I didn’t know the difference between a Corona and Cuervo. By the end of my first night I did, right into the nearest garbage can.
By the time I got to work with Mike Thomas, I was already a good bar-back, but I really wanted to be a bartender. I convinced Mike that I would work as hard as I could to prove to him that I could do it. One night after a particularly long shift, he let me in on a little secret. The above quote is one of the most profound things I had ever heard at that time. Keep in mind that I was 21 and was about to become the youngest bartender in town. Mike explained to me that the trick was to become part of the environment over time. I had to let go of any pre-conceived notions that would interfere with what was going on around me—to open up my senses and to anticipate the next action. Eventually, as we worked together, we became Masters of our world. At the end, the key was he hid nothing from me, or I from him.
Entertainment lighting is not that much different. We walk in, as supposed Masters of our craft, to build something from nothing and start from scratch. We must open ourselves up to the harsh cold reality that we know nothing of the pending plan or the outcome. We must also shed any pre-conceived notions that we do. We must not hide anything from others just as nothing is hidden from us. We must know this completely.
During the first production meeting, we must formulate a plan of action. What is the intent of our show? What do we want people to take away from their experience? This must be our guide from start to finish. The show must be an extension of the people who put it together. If it is not, then the show will fail. We have a responsibility to connect with the experience that will become our driving force for the show.
For example, in 2011, CHAUVET® as a company embraced a theme of INfected. For our tradeshow booths at LDI, we showed that not only did we come up with a great set of booths we knew and understood our message so purely and so strongly that we produced a phenomenal show. By virtue of the fact that we made conscious and sub-conscious decisions—completely embrace this theme—we were successful in driving the message.
The key is that one must know, not think, that they have put down the best ideas they have for the show. Then nothing is held back. The designer must have clear vision of what the producer wants to see even if the producer does not. The designer must start to visualize from the first meeting what the outcome will be.
Often times when working with musical acts, I can hear colors for songs. I see melodies as lights moving and patterns shifting from spot to spot on a stage. I start to create visuals in my head that become cues in the show. From these images, I see structures that become the lighting rig. I can see the gobos and prisms interacting with washes of various colors. I can see it all so clearly in my head that laying it out onto a controller becomes a necessity as much as the songwriter must get the words onto paper.
Free from Imagining
“One should not imagine oneself to be one with the eye or independent of it or the owner of it. The same with ear and all the other senses, including the mind. Nor should one imagine oneself to be identical with the world or contained in it or independent of it or the owner of it. In this way, free from imaging, one no longer clings to the things of the world. When one no longer clings, there is no more agitation, insecurity, and worry. Being no longer worried, one can reach into the depth of oneself and understand that where there has been lost there is now fulfillment.” ~ “Samyutta Nikaya” of the Buddha
The point is you must free your mind enough to imagine not what your vision is, but rather to know what your vision is. You must see your vision clearly in your mind to open up and let it become reality. When you know your vision doubt, worry, and stress float away because you have the security of knowing.
Now that you know your direction, the next step is to create something.
It was 30 years ago that the world experienced Live Aid. Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organized this amazing event to promote the relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. This event was held simultaneously in London at Wembley Stadium and at Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. On the same day, events took place based on the same initiative in several other places all over the globe. It reached an audience of over 1.9 billion people across 150 nations. Pretty amazing for everyone who thinks you can’t possibly connect that many people without Facebook or Twitter! Here are a few videos from the shows. Enjoy!
NASHVILLE, TN – Lighting designers often like to talk about how they capture music in light, but Chris Lisle has taken this concept a step further on the Chase Rice tour. The well-known Nashville LD, who’s done standout work for the likes of Miranda Lambert, One Republic and Robert Plant, wove images of music and light together in dramatic fashion for the up-and-coming country star by converting faux guitar cabinets into lighting effects, courtesy of 16 Nexus Aw 7×7 LED panels from CHAUVET Professional provided by 4Wall Nashville.
Lisle positioned the Nexus Aw 7×7 panels inside eight of the replica cabinets, which were arranged on top of set carts along a row that ran across the upstage deck. When the Chauvet fixtures were off, the set props looked like standard guitar cabinets. Then, when the show kicked into high gear, the “cabinets” came alive, shooting out intense beams of warm white light from the Nexus’ 49-watt LEDs. Pixel mapped sweeps created the sensation that the scenic element amps were actually responding to the hard-driving guitars riffs on stage.
Like many startling ideas, Lisle’s creative use of the Nexus Aw 7×7 panels grew out of practical concerns. Rice’s recent Number One Billboard album Ignite The Night has transformed him into a hot commodity in country music. This led to his being selected to open for superstar Kenny Chesney on a tour that stopped at large arenas. From a design standpoint, this meant two things: Rice would be appearing on a much bigger stage than usual; and as the opening act setup and tear down time would be critical for his rig.
“In a big arena setting like where Kenny Chesney plays, I always want to fill as much visual space with light as possible,” said Lisle. “This helps make the make the show look bigger without a gigantic budget. The faux guitar cabinets were an existing part of the set already. However, I knew that by adding the Nexus inside of them I” be able to pull out some cool fun tricks during Chase’s 25-minute set that engaged the audience and filled the stage. Of course once that set was over, we wanted a rig that could be moved off the stage promptly. Having the Nexus panels set in the cabinets really helped with this process.”
Lisle mounted the panels flat facing outward inside the cabinets. Each of the cabinet/fixtures was linked to the next via DMX. The LD credits his programmer Mike Marcario for creating impactful pixel mapped images on the Nexus panels.
“Mike did a great job of pixel mapping them and doing some great sweeps and motion with them for sure,” said Lisle. “He did more effects than anything – generic sweeps and use of geometrical patterns. It really created the look we wanted on stage.”
The acclaimed LD also praised the Nexus panels and 4Wall Nashville. “I love the color temperature of the Aw 7×7,” he said. The fact that I get those nice CTO punchy beams out of the guitar cabinets makes for a great look. I am a big fan of the warmth of tungsten light, and this fixture does a good job at giving us that. The team at 4Wall Nashville was also great, helping me every step of the way. It’s always a good feeling when you come up with an offbeat idea and everyone says, ‘Hey! it actually worked.’”
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This week is going to be historic for NASA as the New Horizons spacecraft passes by Pluto. While you might think that this has little to do with the entertainment lighting industry, it actually does. Advancements in lens design, glass manufacturing, and communications technology benefit us greatly as they will help to ensure that the way that we project light will improve over time. We here at Chauvet Professional congratulate NASA on their upcoming mission apogee. To keep up with the mission, check out http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html
NASHVILLE– LD Drew Gnagey of Magneto Live Design called on the Rogue RH1 Hybrid from CHAUVET Professional to fill a variety of roles in the Rascal Flatts RIOT! Tour. Gnagey is using the moving fixtures in a variety of situations, counting on them to perform as a beam type effect that can punch through its surroundings; as a wash for softer moments; and as a dynamite hybrid when bright and sharp morphing looks are needed.
A key part of Gnagey’s production design is to wrap the lighting rig around the band. This forms a closer connection between the music and the lightshow. However, it also makes it critical to have a lighting fixtures that can change looks quickly and cover a range of moods.
The tower Rogues have also played a key role in helping Gnagey adapt his lighting to the widely varied venues on the RIOT! Tour, which will notch stops at everything from a cruise ship and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to State Fairs and giant amphitheaters before its conclusion. “Having to deal with a number of types of venues on this tour, we’ve had to make the rig very flexible,” he said. “By using the Rogues on towers, we’re able to scale the rig based on the trim height of the day.”
There is a really cool website that deals with the beginnings of filament lighting in theatres. Everyone should check it out as it speaks to the beginnings of our present era in the history of lighting. Check out CASSSTUDIO6 for some amazing behind the scenes shots and history of our industry.
The above photo is of the electrical room in the Paris Opera House in 1887
While LEDs are becoming more and more prevelant in the theatrical world, there are still plenty of places where standard dimming is still being used and installed. This is why CHAUVET Professional came up with the Ovation ED 190-WW and Ovation FD 165-WW. These are LED fixtures that are designed to work with both DMX control and dimming systems. A true bridge between the old and the new.
