Lighting Co
Aspect Lighting
Venue
Various (Tour)
Crew
- Lighting Designer: Ryan Alexander
- Lighting Director: Brent Nixon
- Video Co: Aspect Lighting
- Lighting & Video Tech: Manny Wolmers
- Video Content Designer: Bronski
- Video Director: Brent Nixon
- Video Crew Chief: Manny Wolmers
- Production Manager: Matt Russell
- Tour Manager: Aisling Quinn
- Stage Manager: Matt Rusell
Gear
- 1 grandMA2 Light console
- 6 Martin Axiom Hybrids
- 8 Elation Protron RGBW strobes
- 8 Chauvet Nexus AQ 7×7’s
- 6 Martin MAC Auras
- 6 Chauvet COLORband strips
- 2 Ultra-Tec Radiance hazers
- 2 Martin F-100 foggers
- 40 5mm LED Panels
- 1 MBox media server
Designer Insights
By Steve Jennings
PLSN spoke with lighting designer Ryan Alexander and lighting director Brent Nixon about lighting Bebe Rexha on her Bebe & Bassy 2017 Tour captured in mid October when the tour came through San Francisco. Alexander has worked with multiple artists in various genres, some which include Logic, G-Eazy, Khalid, Halsey and Daya, among others. Nixon is the LD for the band Sum 41, who just wrapped up a 36 country world tour in support of their latest album.
Ryan Alexander
Lighting Designer
The biggest challenge of this tour was to create two different looks using the same rig since it was a co-headlining tour with Bebe Rexha and Mark Bassey, says Alexander.
“I wanted to create a completely different show using the same fixtures so each artist had their own identity. We used Aspect Lighting, which was a great choice for our production. They’re based in LA and provided all the gear we needed that fit our budget. They went above and beyond to make sure that we had everything we needed and we were very happy with the rental and support.
“I did the lighting and video programming, then once the tour started Brent added some updates based on some of Bebe’s requests.
“This was my first time using the Martin Axiom fixtures. I had heard nothing but great things about them, and they definitely lived up to the hype. Between the speed, optics, color mixing, and of course the output, it was a perfect hybrid fixture for this tour. I will be implementing them in the future.”
Brent Nixon
Lighting Director
Lighting director Brent Nixon met Alexander in Bloomington, Indiana in 2006 where they both went to school at Indiana University.
“My college roommate, Alex ‘Herm’ Schneider and I, had just started a small production company called Herm Productions that focused mainly on concert lighting. Early on, Ryan came to a lot of the shows we worked on and he really expressed interest in learning more about the art. He interned with me for a little while, and I was impressed by how he picked up technical skills very quickly. After he graduated he moved away and continued to build his own career in the industry. We reconnected a couple years later after he moved to Los Angeles. He is now a parter in the design company WastedPotential, and it was growing enough that he needed to start bringing in more LD’s to cover the workload. I was happy to be one of them and am excited to see our growth potential as we continue to collaborate on upcoming lighting designs.
“I agree with Ryan about the Martin Axiom lights. They’re some of my favorite fixtures to use on a tour of this size. They’re fast, versatile and can create an impressive amount of unique looks for a hybrid fixture. The Chauvet Nexus 7×7 panels are a great addition to a ground package to provide a powerful juxtaposition between wash and pixel fixtures. For side/front lighting we used Martin Auras which always provide consistent color mixing, performance, and reliability.”
More Bebe Rexha/Bebe & Bassy 2017 Tour photos by Steve Jennings:
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