More details from Harman (www.harman.com) and Martin (www.martin.com):
“Frank Turner presents an interesting quandary for me as a lighting designer,” notes Shaun Moore, lighting department director at Nitelites. “He likes his music to do the talking. He is not an extravagant man and, in many ways, this can be seen in his none-flashy on-stage production. When we received the schedule for the arena tour, I found myself with a slight mind-twinge – how do you design something that will satisfy the audience and stay within the direction from the artist?”
Moore’s goal was to create a more visually tactile profile using the MAC Auras in groups of threes and fours, adding depth and width to the rig. The height was added by creating four layers with the use of Vipers, specifically taking advantage of their zoom and iris.
“The challenge is that no one venue is the same as the next,” Moore stated. “This is even more prevalent when dealing with arena-sized tours and I think the key is to ensure the rig is scalable while keeping the overall weight as low as possible. This was easily achieved because the fixtures for Auras and Vipers are super lightweight.”
Moore chose the MAC Viper Wash as the main key light for the show, using eight on the front truss for band specials, front wash and audience action. The further six Viper washes were used as side light for the band, three per side. “I chose the Viper Washes for their brilliant light output, vivid color mixing and beautiful linear color temperature orange,” he said. “The 13.5 to 59 degree zoom allowed me to remove the follow spots from the rig but still retain the look I hoped to achieve.”
Moore had been a long-time user and fan of the Martin MAC 700, so when the Viper was released he knew he had to try it. “I demoed the fixtures and was beyond impressed! Once again the light output and color mixing swayed my decision, but after seeing the gobo selection and optics, my mind was made up.”
“I can’t really praise the Atomic 3000’s enough,” Moore expressed. “It is now and has been for so long the industry standard strobe due to the intensity and great built-in effects.”
Moore used the Aura fixture as a wash and effect light due to its great color mixing and super tight zoom, even when deployed across the length of an arena.
“The reaction to Shaun’s lighting was perfect,” added Turner. “I’m not one for the kind of light show that overshadows the music, but I do want something dramatic that adds to the overall show. I think the design we had was awesome and really enhanced the experience for the audience!”
“All of the Martin fixtures make my life as a lighting designer even easier by providing great products with perfect features,” Moore expressed. “The Viper range and Aura’s will remain at the top of my list for many years to come. Martin has faultless fixtures, great features and I’ve always had great product support from all the people at Martin.”
For more information on Total Audio & Lighting Performance company, Nitelites, please visit: www.nitelites.co.uk.
