“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s true creativity.” So said Charles Mingus. Although the late great jazz bassist never worked with lights (although he certainly played under plenty of them), his words pretty well sum up the philosophy that Steve Hubbard and his team at BigFish SRL Ltd. […]
“Who did you see?” Pose that question to a random sampling of the 230,000 who attended Insomniac’s Electric Daisy Carnival Mexico on Saturday and Sunday, February 23-24, and you likely won’t get the same answer. That’s not surprising, given that the two-day event featured over 120 artists from every corner of the earth, treating fans […]
Geometry has been described as a “meditation on the harmony of the cosmic order.” Looking at Mike St-Jean’s lighting and production design for the British progressive metal band TesseracT, we couldn’t help but recall this quote from long ago. Arranging an assortment of linear fixtures in angular patterns, St-Jean not only added depth and texture […]
The Old National Center in Indianapolis is indeed old. Built in 1910, it has hosted historic Broadway shows as well as the earliest stars of radio and television. Winston Churchill even gave a speech here in 1932. But although it’s marking its 110th birthday this year, this stately entertainment center is anything but tired. Its […]
It isn’t often that a lighting designer interviewed on these pages compliments us on our choice of words, the way this Prime-Time Emmy Award winner did when we asked him how he “translates” live tour designs into video productions. Translating does not involve merely replicating something, as Branton pointed out to us, but preserving its […]
Someone unfamiliar with Five Finger Death Punch, who somehow happened to wander into one of their recent shows, would realize even before a single note was played that this is one industrial strength metal band. The 16’ tall skull over the drum kit would tell them that; so too would the pair of 40’ baseball […]
You’ve got to love what you do if you’re going to be the lighting designer for Chicago mainstays 7th Heaven. As much a part of the Windy City as deep dish pizza and Garrett Popcorn, the hard-driving rock quintet plays over 150 shows a year at music festivals, block parties, Chicago Bulls games, and at […]
The allure of light lies not only in what it does, but also (and more importantly), in the ever-present promise it offers for more. Delicate and ephemeral, light is always ready to be taken in new directions, going beyond what is at any moment to something larger and greater. It is the pursuit of these […]
Many people play music when they work out to keep their bodies in sync with their exercise routine. For Danish lighting designer Theis Wermuth, listening to music is a form of exercise in and of itself; one that revolves around creative, rather than physical, fitness. Taking the time to absorb music in all of its […]
When Eric Cathcart got the call to create a lighting design for Greta Van Fleet, he didn’t view it as an open-ended gig. “My friends from Premier Global Productions brought me to the table to design and program a show. At the time, the idea was to turn it over to a director for the […]
A round stage is said to present one of the more daunting challenges a lighting designer can face, but this Parnelli Award winning LD has excelled at creating multiple in-the-round designs for his longtime client Metallica, including his universally acclaimed work on the band’s 2018 WorldWired stadium and arena tour. Lighting a stage with a […]
Seeing Simon Horn’s work on Anastacia’s Evolution Tour this summer, we were struck by the alluring backdrop he created for his multi-platinum client. Running across the back of the center stage, his scenic creation consisted of four DNA-shaped double helix set pieces flanked in pixel mapped LED tape with cell blinders attached to their backs. […]