CHICAGO — If Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech gets preserved as a snapshot in America’s historical scrapbook, lighting supplier Christie Lites, LD Bob Peterson and event organizer C3 Presents can claim credit for the visuals created for the moment. A rig including 72 Martin MAC 2000 Wash XBs, six Syncrolite XLs, four Lycian 1293 3000-watt Xenon followspots and other gear lit the election night stage, controlled by MA Lighting’s grandMA console. “The Obama campaign provided the statement for the directive, which was to elegantly transfer from the exuberance of the campaign to the seriousness of the presidency,” said Peterson. “What that meant to me was to deem victory night a serious and strong historical evening.”
“We massaged our single look over a course of three nights,” Peterson added. “The primary component was to light the President Elect to his very best advantage, then cleanly illuminate the 100,000+ people in the park, all at exposures that would allow the skyline and city to be a backdrop in the network cut shot,” and the team then spent a lot of time programming, so that the hang and focus of each instrument was carefully layered.
“I worked with programmer/director/operator Kevin Lawson to decide which consoles to use,” Peterson said. “He chose grandMAs. The stability of the platform,” Peterson added, “has proven excellent on everything I’ve had it on.” This, he added, was not just another routine event. “I honestly believe the images from that night are going to be in the history books.”
“It was a tremendous honor to be involved in this moment of American history,” added Robert Roth of Christie Lites. “Everybody was extremely professional. We had a tremendous lighting team and the MA consoles were as usual the stalwart solid platform that they always are.”
“To be part of this historical event is an honor. To be part of this event given the fact that Bob Peterson was the LD is a point of professional pride. Bob has been a great one for a long time,” said Bob Gordon, president and CEO of A.C.T Lighting, which distributes the grandMA in the U.S.
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