Production Profile

Katy Perry’s 2011 tour, California Dreams, began its 123-show run in Europe in February, ending in the U.K. in April, with May spent in Japan and Australia. The summer North American leg of the tour included stops in 51 cities from June to September. The tour’s last scheduled date was at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Nov. 22. On Nov. 23 — the night before Thanksgiving — Perry marked the end of the tour with an additional performance, “Katy Perry Gives Thanks.” Admission to the show was free.

CNN and PRG Set the Stage for Verbal Fireworks at WRLC Debate

Debates among Presidential candidates are an American tradition and an important part of the democratic process. And ever since TV first brought the images of Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon into American homes, visual imagery — how the candidates look and sound — have played a key role in the electoral outcome as well.

Rihanna’s LOUD Tour 2011 is not originally named for its decibel level — although the ears would say otherwise. Production designer LeRoy Bennett uses loud as another word for “intensity.” Loud in looks. Loud for the eyes. Loud as in, “Pay attention and look.”

Kid Rock turned 40 this year, and he had a small party. Just hundreds of thousands of his closest friends. Also, it went a little long. Eight months.

Part of the party was set/lighting designer and programmer Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld, who has been lighting up Rock since 2000. And there was a lot to light, too. Rock brought out a 10-person band plus four dancing girls. Kicking off in Detroit, Rock’s hometown, the high-energy flame-ignited spectacle dazzled more than 50,000 at Ford’s Field on July 17. He took the party across America through to September.

AD X Media Group, Cirque du Soleil Combine Live Performance with “3D” Projection

In July, AD X Media Group, a multi- and mixed-media company specializing in large format 3D projection, collaborated with Cirque du Soleil on a visual extravaganza for the opening night of the big convention in San Diego for comic books, Comic-Con.

U.K. Designers Evoke the Past with Pastels

Pop culture’s love affair with nostalgia continues. Launched in 2009 at Henley-on-Thames, England, The Rewind Festival boasts what is perhaps the largest lineup of Reagan/Thatcher era artists this side of the US Festival.

LD Phil Wiffin Adjusts the Design to the Needs of the Artist’s First Tour

For the debut concert tour for 22-year-old British R&B and pop singer Alexandra Burke, All Night Long, a 32-date outing at 1,500-to-4,000-capacity venues in the U.K. and Ireland, LD Phil Wiffen made good progress toward completing the first draft at the lighting design — before discarded it.

Devo’s first studio album in 20 years, Something For Everybody, has a level of energy and memorable riffs and rhythms of past Devo hits, and to support the new release, the band hit the road, with gear provided by Epic Production Technologies. The tour pairs lighting designer and director Ernesto Corti with Davy Force (visuals/animation director) and Tim Brunet (live visual mixing).

Patrick Woodroffe, Michael Keller and Upstaging Shape the Looks of Ozzy’s Scream Tour

Ozzy and Sharon’s family lifestyle may differ a bit from the previous generation’s Ozzie and Harriet, but LD Patrick Woodroffe, lighting director Michael Keller and other longtime-supporters of Ozzy’s live shows say an extended family feeling exists nevertheless.

Since the dawn of time, human beings have had an urge to fight. Throughout recorded history — as far back as 2000 B.C. — men have battled each other to determine who is the best. Back then, it was bare-fisted. Today’s gloved boxers have more rules to follow. But a good fight still draws a crowd.

After five years, over 700 performances and 3 million spectators packing the 4,000-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Celine Dion triumphantly closed her show, A New Day, on December 15, 2007. Three years later — after a year and a half on tour, and giving birth to twins, Celine returned.

"The audience paid money to come hear music that they like. The artist knew what they were thinking about when they wrote it. If you can capture that visually, you win," explains lighting director Martin Thomas in the moments before Fantasia Barrino hits the stage.