People arrived at the Bethel Convention Centre, in Birmingham, UK, early for Zimbabwe-born gospel worshipper Eleana Makombe’s Grateful Concert in June. Coming from across the UK, they waited outside in line for over two hours. For them, patience was a virtue, something that would make the time pass easier. Blessing Bero had no such luxury. The Production and Lighting Designer for the African star’s widely anticipated show, he was still sourcing gear just two days before load-in due to circumstances beyond his control.
Bero, who is a Zimbabwean based lighting designer with Events Evolution, responded to this pressure-packed situation with calm. Working his industry contacts, he was hooked up with SJ Grevett of DMX Productions. The day was saved! “DMX Productions did an amazing job under pressure,” said Bero. “Their people were extremely helpful, as was the crew at the convention centre. We had a great technical support from the in-house technician. In the end, we had a production that all of us could take pride in”
The rig provided by DMX Productions had over 40 CHAUVET Professional fixtures, including 10 Rogue R3 Beams, 12 Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWashes, five COLORado PXL 16 motorized battens, 12 STRIKE Array 2C blinders, and four Ovation E-910FC color rendering ellipsoidals. Bero and his colleague technical project manager Tatenda Gaylord Rushwaya, along with the rest of their Events Evolution team used this rig to create a seamless flow of engaging looks that supported Makombe and the 10 guests who joined her on stage in a rousing uplifting performance.
Matching the energy of the music, the production featured a dynamic array of aerial effects that played off beautifully against the horizontally oriented video wall. Bero added variety to his by lighting by changing the direction of his interlocking beam patterns. Sometimes, he simply directed light in diagonal angles over the crowd to create an open look that brought the artist closer to the audience.
For the LED video wall, Bero collaborated with his colleague Rushwaya. They reshuffled the apparent configuration of the video wall, blacking out its center, so at times it looked like two distinct walls, instead of one. The images displayed on the wall were as varied as the lighting. Often, those images were reflected in the patterns of the lightshow. For example, at one point when Bero had a celestial-like matrix pattern displayed on the screen, he echoed them with bright whitewashes and beams.
Bero also reflected the shifting emotional dynamics of the music, by calling forth a rainbow of colors, he also relied on the variety of geometric patterns to add depth to his show. This was the case in one of Bero’s favorite looks when the halo ring from the Rogue Outcast BeamWash played off against the red shift from the STRIKE Array 2. “I never got tired of this look during changes overs,” said Bero “It created a nice smooth transition.” In a show that sparkled, these transitions shined like diamonds. And like all diamonds, their glitter was the result of good things happening under pressure.
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