Lighting Co
Morpheus Lights
Venue
Various (Tour)
Crew
- Lighting Designer/Director: Thomas “Church” Christmann
- Lighting Crew Chief: Gregory Nunz
- Lighting Techs: Matthew Medina, Thomas Marty, Luis Herrera
- Morpheus Reps: Mark Fetto, Jimmy Winn
- Video Content/Creators: Blink TV
- Video Director: Thomas “Church“ Christmann
- Video Co: VER/Patrick Eaton
- Media Server Programmer: Paul Douglas
- Production Manager: Bryan “Froggy” Cross
- Tour Manager: Matt Peloquin
- Stage Manager: Charles Nicolas
- Staging Co: Accurate Staging/Michael Garabedian
- Soft Goods/Pod Fabrication: Gallagher Staging/Joe Gallagher
- Trucking: Stage Call
- Rigger: Kurtis Grossen
Gear
- 2 ChamSys MQ500 Stadium consoles
- 64 Ayrton MagicPanel Twins
- 6 Ayrton Magic Ring R9
- 20 Ayrton Nandobeam S9
- 20 Ayrton Nandobeam R3
- 15 Ayrton MagicBlade FX
- 21 Martin MAC Viper Profiles
- 12 Atomic LED strobes
- 14 Chauvet Strike4 Blinders
- 12 AX1 PixelTubes
- 2 MDG Atmosphere hazers
- 4 Radiance hazers
- 2 Barco HDF 30 Flex 30k projectors
- 8 ImagePro units
- 1 Catalyst v5 media server
Designer Insights by Steve Jennings:
Thomas “Church” Christmann
Lighting Designer/Lighting Director
We spoke with lighting designer & director Thomas “Church” Christmann who is back out with the rock/metal band Korn. The band is playing a variety of arenas, sheds and festivals as headliner and co-headlines on the current tour. The band is fully involved in their production design, Christmann says.
“The show is a mix of all the band members’ favorite pieces, where I combined the old school metal cab wall, the modern LED screens, the catwalks (ego riser) for them to run around, on different levels and the classic rock show with blinders and strobes.
“As we were talking about a new tour and new look, everybody came up with ideas and you can imagine there were priceless, crazy ideas, but you could also hear what everybody’s main focal points were. The former production manager Marko Vujovic (still our FOH sound engineer) and I both came up with an idea and we started to discuss all options. The design needed to be flexible as well because of all the different capacities, venues and slots the band are playing.”
Ayrton’s DreamPanel Twin is a hybrid fixture with a 64 by 64-pixel, 6 mm pitch 3500 nit video panel on one side, and a 64-emitter LED array on the other. Coupled with continuous pan and tilt, the fixture offers designers both high-res and low-res video imaging, as well as a maximum 25,000 lumen, 6° beam.
“I’m back using Ayrton Magic Panel R’s which turned out so well, they’re so impressive and really pack a punch! I liked the mirror kit option. We stepped up on this design and used the Magic Panel Twin. This one comes with a HD screen on the back.
“We love to use video content, but we didn’t wanted a screen wall like so many do. To put the Magic Panel Twin in pods to create a screen and use white cabs as a projection surface gave us many options.
“I like to give the stage diverse dimensions with just set lights. We have a backdrop covered with black mesh… you only see it if you put lights on it. The cabs needed lights and the projectors are perfect for it.
“Of course, you can collect ideas on a current tour and store in your mind until the next one. For instance, I saw a clip of the AX1 Pixeltubes on Facebook, and I called Morpheus Lights, our vendor from Las Vegas, that I wanted them. These little tubes make so much sense and save a lot of truck space.
“I try and get as many past Korn lighting crew members when possible, as I trust the Morpheus crew. The company is so on it from the first idea to the last minute of the tour. A real joy to work with.”
More 2017 Korn tour photos by Steve Jennings:
{gallery}17/08/korn{/gallery}
