“Rock N Roll will never die!” The phrase has echoed down through the years since 1952, when a Cleveland disc jockey popularized the phrase to describe a new genre of music that was beginning to sweep the USA.

Rock music has indeed never died, but instead has grown only stronger over the ensuing decades, in large measure because of its ability to adapt and change, always expanding its horizons to embrace fans of all ages, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Like the music it celebrates, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which marked its 39th year in 2024, has also drawn on its ability to embrace new ideas to remain vibrant and relevant.

The ceremony provided a stunningly beautiful example of this commitment, as a dynamic lighting design by Allen Branton that featured over 250 Chauvet Professional fixtures (supplied by 4Wall Entertainment), worked seamlessly with a Bruce Rodgers production design and an immersive video design by Bianca Moncada of Darmah, to engage the live and TV audience on a deep level, all while supporting the activities on stage.

Much of the magic that happened inside the Rocket Mortgage Field House on a Saturday evening was made possible by the design team’s ongoing readiness to adapt to new technologies. This was most evident in the event’s impressive video backdrop.

“The lights-blowing-through-screen is an idea we have used on RRHF for several years,” said Branton. “Initially it allowed us to do some rock & roll violence to the video imagery behind the performances. These images were just still photos in the early years. When Darmah came on the scene in 2021, they brought a new translucid video product, along with magnificent, animated imagery.”

Magnificent indeed! With their crystal-clear resolution, and customed creative content ideas. Curated and digital art directed, with seamless movement and smooth unique changes in shape and size, the video content dressed the entire stage, captivating the audience in every moment.

“The transition to animated visuals creates an engaging and interactive experience for the audience as well as a layer of depth and movement,” said Moncada. “It allows us to convey emotion, tell a deeper story, and immerse the viewers in a visual experience that evolves alongside the ceremony.

“I believe that video content, much like lighting, should work to create layers that enhance the core focus of any performance, which, of course is the artist on stage,” continued Moncada. “The design and movement within the visuals help direct the viewer’s attention, highlighting only key moments while ensuring the performers themselves remains the central focus. At Darmah, we aim for visuals that are bold and visually memorable, but not overwhelming. Overall, our video content transforms what could have been flat and static into something lively, evocative and capable of transmitting emotion to the audience.”

Just as it has been in the show’s video imagery, change was also evident in the lighting. For example, the rig’s Color Strike M motorised strobe-washes brought a level of flexibility that would have been unheard of not long ago, all while paying tribute to a look that’s as old as rock itself.

“The Color Strike M is a very flexible fixture in a setting like this,” said Branton. “One or two pixels gives us a delicate background. But all pixels, when they’re running hot, give us psychological heat in the image. And of course, this fixture’s strobe does what strobes have done since the beginning of rock & roll.”

Also contributing to the engaging quality of the lighting design were 36 Maverick MK3 Washes, 35 Maverick MK3 Profile V2 fixtures, 14 Rogue R1 BeamWashes and six COLORado 2 Solo Zooms. “We relied on the MK3 Profiles to handle all of the stage key lighting and backlighting,” said lighting director Felix Peralta. “All of the Mavericks, Rogues and COLORados had the output to stand up to the video backdrop while matching it beautifully in colour.”

Another change of pace in this year’s show was the way light was used to fill dead space to the extreme sides of the stage for the TV camera. In the past, Branton has often used COLORdash Accent 3 pars for this purpose. Although his rig still had 36 units of that fixture, he also used larger down lights for that purpose this year. “This was for more variety,” he explained. “The show spans musical styles from Dionne Warwick to Ozzy Osborne. Some call for beauty and picturesque, painterly approach, others kinetic violence, and everything in between.”

The wide range of artists honored at the ceremony was a tribute to the ability rock to adapt and expand. Among the honorees were Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews Band, Kool & the Gang, Foreigner, Peter Frampton and A Tribe Called Quest. This diversity provided a rich variety of moments to savor in the five-and-a-half-hour program.

For Moncada, one special moment was when Cher appeared with Dua Lipa against a custom scenic environment inspired by 70s’ architecture. The space featured beautiful gradient digital lighting programmed to sync perfectly with the music.

Another shining moment was during the Ozzy Osbourne tribute. By the end of the ‘No More Tears’ performance, two giant skulls, inspired by artist’s style, emerged within the video content as if rigged with automation. As they settled into position, real lighting fixtures positioned behind the LED screens pierced through their eyes, creating a stunning, three-dimensional effect.

Impressively, this five-and-a-half-hour masterpiece was pulled off by the talented creative team with very little prep time. “We didn’t have much opportunity to rehearse and do basic creative prep beforehand,” said Branton. There was no time to have the artists hit the stage at rehearsal to look at each other and wonder what this should look like. Recently, this time crunch has become more like sky-diving as the show started streaming live last year!”

Yet, this multi-layered show came off beautifully, with critical help from a team that included Joel Gallen, Rick Austin, Emily Wolfe, Gary Lanvy, Garry Hood and Brian Lolly, as well as Felix Peralta and fellow LDs Kevin Lawson and George Gountas, head gaffer Alex Flores and Liberty Rock.

“They brought the entire monstrosity to readiness and managed the schedule and rehearsal activities masterfully,” said Branton, who described the project as “an impossible mission.”
Impossible? Almost, but in reality, it was a mission accomplished through an entire team effort, the kind that’s just as important in production today, as it was back before that Cleveland disc jockey spun the very first record of that new-fangled thing called rock & roll, and that’s one thing that will never change.