LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – The University of Kentucky’s basketball program is one that certainly lives up to the hype year after year, and its annual Big Blue Madness is no different. Bandit Lites once again provided the lighting package for the televised celebration where the 2018-2019 season kicked off with dance routines from both the women’s coach, Matthew Mitchell, and the Kentucky cheerleaders along with epically staged introductions as the players were introduced to the sold-out crowd before a scrimmage.
More details from Bandit (www.BanditLites.com):
Bandit Lites supplied more than one hundred fixtures including GLP X4S, Robe BMFLs, GLP X4 Bar 20, Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids, Claypaky B-EYE K20, Sunstrips, Robe PATT 2017 and Mega-lite CircaScoops.
Lighting designer Aaron Swetland tackled the design for the projected #1 ranked basketball team’s event, lighting the two runways midstage upstage corners where the players made their entrance. While initially envisioning a larger backdrop, Swetland soon learned the runway space was not actually seven feet, but rather three feet.
Undaunted, Swetland said he “wanted to add sparkle for the camera and to create ambiance, crafting a border along the side of the runway.”
One addition to this year’s design that helped with the ‘sparkle for the camera’ were the recently acquired Mega-lite CircaScoop LED fixtures. Swetland shared he liked all the built in toys and advised Lighting Programmer Alex Gagnon to keep things the required blue and white and to make it all twinkle.
Besides the color pallet, Gagnon had minimal direction on the look of the show, crafting a freeform show during the dance routines but keeping a strict, static bright look for the cheerleaders and all-important scrimmage, all while being mindful of the five video walls.
“The University of Kentucky’s basketball team sets the standard in college basketball and we are privileged to be a part of the production team put together by Bob Stoops that helps celebrate this fine institution,” finished Bandit Lites Business Development Officer Brent Barrett. “It’s an event we look forward to every year.”
