Designer Insights

Teams and projections don’t look as impressive when they pass through clear air, hence the profusion of hazers and foggers and theatrical scrims for visual impact.
For the 2013 tour for How to Destroy Angels, a band created by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, LD Roy Bennett worked with longtime NIN art director Rob Sheridan on various semi-transparent alternatives. The goal: to come up with something that would create a novel visual twist — surrounding the band members in a box-like shape, yet standing up to the rigors of a touring production.

Jeff Ravitz, longtime LD for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, got a surprise call in late 2011: The Boss would once again be hitting the road with the 2012/2013 Wrecking Ball tour, with a new five-piece horn section attempting to fill the void left by The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, who died June 18, 2012. Ravitz and fellow Intensity Advisors designer Kristie Roldan were in New Jersey most of February for rehearsals. The tour launched in Atlanta after pre-tour gigs at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and Austin’s South by Southwest Festival.

LD Howard Ungerleider Choreographs the Lighting
For Rush’s latest album, Clockwork Angels, science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson expanded drummer Neil Peart’s lyrics into a novel that depicts a colorful world of Steampunk, lost cities and a protagonist caught between the forces of chaos and order. For the live concert experience, Howard Ungerleider’s lighting design, or “choreography,” dances with video elements during the three-hour show.

Perspectives from Patrick Woodroffe, Mark Fisher and Kevin Bye

Elton John’s Million Dollar Piano, a three-year engagement at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, is the artist’s second long-running residency show at the venue. Like the previous residency/tour, Red Piano, a key focal point is Elton’s instrument on stage, in this case a custom-built, million-dollar Yamaha piano that he has named Blossom. The Million Dollar piano has built into it LSI/Saco 3mm high resolution LED screens which feature various visual designs throughout the show. PLSN got the opportunity to discuss the show’s visual elements with LD Patrick Woodroffe, production designer Mark Fisher and lighting director Kevin “Stick” Bye.

The 2012 Enrique Iglesias & Jennifer Lopez tour combined two distinct shows into one evening, with each artist performing 13 songs. J-Lo was up first, with looks ranging from vintage Hollywood, complete with male dancers, top hats and canes, to a boxing motif reflecting tough urban roots. Following an intermission, Iglesias stripped away most of the theatrical flourishes and offered up the raw energy of a traditional rock concert.