Major Laser and Light Show Augments a Dynamic Evening in Vegas’ Biggest Venue
The opening weekend of MGM Resorts $375 million T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas was filled with non-stop action from several shows. Starting off with the best that Vegas has to offer on April 6 were hometown heroes The Killers. A large production was designed by long time production and lighting designer for this act, Steven Douglas; with all the production elements one would expect for a first class rock show opening a mega venue.
Douglas describes the unique show. “It was great to have all the Vegas elements involved in this show. Blue Man Group, Cirque, Bally’s Showgirls, and of course Wayne Newton (Mr. Las Vegas). We really wanted to make it a full event from start to finish, and I think it worked out well. There seemed to be a good atmosphere in the room throughout the entire show, and I think having changeover/interval performers on the B stage really helped with that. Plus, I never thought I would ever light all those people in one night, so it was a lot of fun”.
The 20,000 seat arena was easily able to handle the large production thanks to a well-thought-out floor plan that includes a very short load in path, six loading docks, a marshaling yard, flat arena surfaces and 16 acres to move around on.
We asked Douglas how it was loading into the T-Mobile Arena as the very first band to perform in the new space. “It was a good venue. I did a site visit here about three months ago, and it was just a construction site. It’s interesting to see how quickly it’s finished. For the most part, it was a smooth process, loading in. The most interesting part was working out the airflow management with the building personnel because obviously they are all about keeping the building cooled for the crowd. But we have lasers, confetti and a kabuki drop to think about as well as the smoke needed. Luckily they have this guy Eric that used to work at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, and was familiar with air handler use in a concert environment. He was able to be that guy who knew both worlds and made it easy.”
Production Wise
The production included a light rig steep in size and spread out graphically well to intersperse with the video elements. This was all anchored with a wall of lasers that were spread out across the floor. The centerpiece of the lighting rig was a pod of Ayrton Magic Dots fashioned into the “K” shaped logo of the Killers. They were framed by another bunch of Ayrton MagicBlades. Christie Lites supplied the lighting with Steven relying on [Martin] MAC Vipers and Wash DX fixtures to bathe the stage in light. A multitude of Sharpys supplied the beams while old-fashioned Atomics with scrollers dealt with the strobe effects. Christie Lites account rep Martin Kelley has been proudly working with the band since back in 2005. The gear was pulled out of their 81,000 square foot Las Vegas facility.
Douglas called upon Lightwave International and their various lasers to bring his grand vision to life. Lasers have always been a major aspect of the Killers performances. Douglas decided that, when opening an arena in Vegas, you have to really get flashy. A grand total of 57 different laser fixtures were employed for this one-off, including 35W Prism lasers, Phenom moving head lasers, Lixel Battens, and Lixel Mirror Lasers.
PRG/XL Video supplied the video elements. Two off-stage 16-by-13-foot (WxH) 9mm screens were utilized for Image magnification of the band as well as content. The designer hung six 11-by-6-foot (WxH) stagnant rectangular landscaped video walls in a triangular fashion that enclosed the center “K” lighting structure. PRG included a camera package with the Video Dusk Effects system as well as the ArKaos media servers for content playback.
There was no shortage of effects during the show as Las Vegas’ Pyrotek provided a nifty version of the pyro/gerb waterfall of sparks effect. As the sparks were flowing down from the heavens the crowd could see the above devices panning back and forth spitting out the sparks in a curving cool effect that was spectacular. Confetti covered the floor at opportune times [with an assist from Las Vegas prop comic Carrot Top] and a balloon drop at the end signified the closing of the monumental performance and visual display.
Speaking with the LD
Douglas has been lighting this band for 11 years. He got the gig when, “I was at home and got a call from a friend who wanted a day off at the venue I had worked in for years. ‘Easy gig, no touring LD, some band called The Killers’. I busked the show and their FOH guy took my number, saying they’d be in touch. As everyone knows, that happens a lot and you never hear a thing. But they called about a month or so later and here we are.”
Steven explains how he dealt with the design process during the formative years with this band. “The lighting designs had to be very flexible at the start, because the band skyrocketed in popularity just after I started working for them. It meant that we were doing a mixed set of shows, some small clubs, mid sized arenas and also huge amphitheaters. We once did a club show in Montreal and the next night it was an 18,000 seat shed in Toronto, so there was a lot of local supplementing of fixtures to add to our base rig that we carried.”
The visual show is always a work in progress. The cue structure for the songs has been implemented, and the designer is working off of a show disk that he has been using for about two years now. “There is a definite cue stack in place as a basis for the show, but there is also a lot of flexibility within the programming for changes on the fly. Everything is run live, no time code used.” He points out that this is a whole new designed light rig for this one show.
When asked if modern technology influenced his vision with this particular show, Douglas replied, “Tech is playing a part in everything now, really, isn’t it? In terms of the show, I try not to use a product just because it’s the coolest new thing. I say that, even though I’m aware I have a lot of ‘trendy’ products in the show at the moment. But I think they all serve a purpose. The product turnover is moving so fast now that if you’re not the first to use it, it almost becomes passé immediately. I like to think it’s about using the products in a way that serves your show and trying to use them in a different way.”
One day, he added lasers. “We started using lasers in 2012 and started with five 30W Prism lasers upstage, and it’s expanded over the years. Now, tonight, we had a great variety of laser products.” The lasers are programmed and run right from his full size grandMA2 lighting console. He explains the simplicity of working with this system he has out here. “It was really easy with the Lightwave International stuff, because it’s the same as programming a moving light. With the standard version of the laser, its really easy, as the laser tech will focus it into a safe zone and then you move it into any position within that safe zone. With the new moving head lasers, obviously, you have to be more careful with distance to audience, etc., but I’ve always got the Lightwave boys over my shoulder letting me know where the legal limit lies and how close I can sail to it.”
Summing up, Steven lauds “all the crew at Christie Lites, PRG XL Video, Pyrotek, Lightwave and the Killers Crew. They did a great job.”
Laser Looks
We caught up with George Dodworth from Lightwave International. They are entering their fifth year of working with this act and have grown in size, just as this band has.
“We are proud to be involved with Steven and this organization. Scale sort of speaks for itself on this show. I believe the total is about 1500 watts of laser power, and nearly 300 laser fixtures when you count up each individual source in our fixtures. In the upcoming year, you are going to see power levels increase further into the thousands, especially with products such as our Lixel video walls.”
George explains a little about his company’s method of having lasers programmed and controlled directly by the LD as opposed to having another board operator on a tour. “The lasers are fully controlled by the lighting desk. For the Phenom, the personality is highly refined for use on the grandMA2. All of the clips are displayed on the cue thumbnails, which speeds programming. The embedded laser media server contains thousands of clips, which are arranged into video directory and clip structure, along with the usual modifiers you would expect.
“Phenom is different than other DMX controlled laser products, because it was a clean-sheet design, specifically made for control from a console, and not from a PC product. If you select a fixture at 100, you simply have output as you would with a conventional light. We have been controlling lasers with MA consoles for 10 years. We are excited to see that DMX is finally becoming an accepted standard for laser companies.”
Steven was one of Lightwave’s early adopters of DMX control. It was a time when a standalone laser operator controlled most shows, or perhaps a PC system that was triggered by DMX. Steven was adamant that he have full control of the entire show, including video and lasers, and at the time, the company was trying to nudge other designers to try out the new tools.
George concurs. “What I enjoyed most about watching Steve program was that the lasers were taking on new personalities. Instead of teaching an LD how to operate lasers, we were handing over the lasers in a language and programming environment that was comfortable to them. I’m always excited to see what Steve is going to program.”
When asked what separates Lightwave from other companies in the same business, George explains, “Our two main distinguishing features are innovation and scale. We design, patent, fabricate, and variance all of our own equipment. Rather than just operate as a laser rental house, we build what we provide. This has enabled us to dream and execute on amazing products that range from early audience scanning techniques more than a decade ago, to new products like the Lixel and Phenom — and with more under development. Our end goal is to mature into the model of the large successful lighting instrument vendors. I admire companies such as Clay Paky and Ayrton that create indispensable products that lighting designers crave. We try to accomplish the same, but with lasers.”
One of the cool new products used on this show were the Lixels, described as the world’s first full color multi-dimensional laser array. Think of it as a Striplight full of laser sources. These fixtures offer up a wide array of laser effects in endless geometric patterns, or even full pixel mapping. During the Killers show, the viewer seemed to watch the band perform behind a curtain of tiny laser beams. Each fixture consists of 10 separate lasers.
George explains a little more about the direction this product is taking lasers in.
“A bit about the etymology of the Lixel: where Picture plus Element is a Pixel, Laser plus Pixel is referred to as a Lixel. It is our goal to extend the use of lasers into every application that uses Pixels today, and we have big ideas in patent space hedged on the development of those dreams. The primary Lixel product today is arranged into Battens, Circles, and Panels using 4-watt RGB lasers for each element. Our units in production are using a 100mm pitch. But think back to early video walls and Jumbotrons. We have to start somewhere, but already the power levels are profound. A one-square-meter panel contains 400 Watts of RGB laser power.”
Speaking of laser use for this particular show, George says, “When Steve first approached us for this show, he was especially keen to utilize the full trim of the venue. It is around 100 feet from floor to steel with the roof over 120 feet to the ground. Rather than truss-mount lasers as we have, traditionally, Steve moved the lasers to the ground so that they could create this massive wall that reached from the ground and used every inch of the arena trim up to the sound deadening material under the roof. The Lixel Laser Wall alone used over 700 watts of full color lasers, and was 60’ feet wide by 120 feet tall.”
Of course, no talk about lasers at a concert is complete without asking the company about audience scanning with lasers. George mentions, “Audience scanning was a large component of the laser design. Steve has a fantastic command of their use. By layering the Phenom termination areas in groups, we were able to maximize the output of the lasers from the front row to the rear of the arena.”
Lastly, we ask George for his take on the new T-Mobile Arena. “This is a great new venue. A one-off show of this scale would have been difficult in an older arena, and we especially enjoyed the trim. We are proud to be involved with this historic event!”
The T-Mobile Arena finished their first week with a bang. Besides the opening night with the Killers and Wayne Newton, they added shows by Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande the next night, followed by two evenings with the revamped Guns N’ Roses playing their first arena shows in 23 years.
Crew
- Lighting & Production Designer: Steven Douglas
- Production Manager: Michael Oberg
- Stage Manager: Zack Eastland
- Lighting Co: Christie Lites
- Christie Lites Crew: JT McDonald (Crew Chief), Ian Haslauer, Jordan Sell, Brandon Leedham, Mike Kapler (Advance Drawings), Martin Kelley (Account Manager)
- Video Co: PRG/XL Video
- Video Crew: Norvin Maloney, Richard Stembridge, Randy Schafer, Stuart Smith, Shray Amin, Mike Wawro, Tyler Munson
- Laser Co: Lightwave
- Laser Crew: Dave Fonner, Brian Bourgeois, Neal Nance, George Dodworth (Account Manager)
- Pyro Co: Pyrotek Special Effects
- Pyro Crew: Simon Brierly, Gregg Pearson
- Set Co: All Access Staging & Productions
- Staging Crew: Matt Garrett, Robert Achlimbari
Gear
Lighting Gear:
- 2 grandMA2 consoles
- 38 Martin MAC Viper Profiles
- 50 Martin MAC Viper Wash DX
- 16 Atomic Color Strobes
- 41 Clay Paky Sharpys
- 6 Martin MAC III (followspots)
- 26 Ayrton MagicBlades
- 68 Ayrton MagicDots
- 23 4-Lite Moles
- 6 Radiance Hazers
- 3 Jem ZR33 smoke machines
Video Gear:
- 5 9mm screens for stage (11’ x 6’)
- 2 9mm side screens (16’ x 13’)
- 1 Camera system
- 1 Video Dust Effects System
- 1 Arkaos Media Master Server
Lasers:
- 5 Lightwave Prism RGB 35W
- 26 Phenom Moving Head RGB Laser
- 18 Lixel RGB Laser Batten (each w/10 40W lasers)
- 8 Lixel RGB Laser Batten with Mirrors (each w/10 40W lasers)
For more photos of the Killers at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas by Erik Kabik, go to:
http://www.prolightingspace.com/photo/albums/the-killers-gallery-shots-by-erik-kabik-1
