PARIS — French singer Raphael recently played several gigs across France beneath an Andi Watson-designed MAC rig that included Martin Professional’s new 1500 watt MAC III Profile. Arpège Son Lumière, which purchased 14 of the new generation MAC fixtures via Martin France, supplied the fresh-from-the-factory gear for the tour. “Although load in started November 1st we didn’t receive the fixtures on site until November 4th with a first show on November 7th at the Zénith in Nantes,” said Jan Lambrecht of Arpège. “We purchased the MAC III Profiles because Arpège plays a big role in the touring market in France and across Europe and the fixtures will be useful on tours in early spring 2009. They will also be great for television and events, two other important markets for us. The MAC III Profiles are great next to the MAC 2000 Wash XB. They have a powerful output and are technically very easy to maintain.”
Watson has previously worked with Raphael on the artist’s Caravane tour, and also for a series of acoustic shows. “My role on this tour is production designer, although with no video on the show it has mainly been about the lighting and the set,” Watson said. “With regards the MAC III in particular I am delighted that they were available for the tour as I feel the quality of the light from the fixture, its reliability and features have added hugely to the production.”
In contrast to the last tour where video projection and a lot of fabric were used, this time Raphael wanted a more stripped down and “naked” feel to the stage. “My solution was to create a stage environment reminiscent of a derelict warehouse or old industrial building, hence the lack of borders on the trusses, the very metallic look, and the use of genuine last century industrial lamps and chains,” Watson said.
“As a result the lighting system in its entirety becomes a huge part of the stage set. I knew I wanted to use 5k Fresnel lamps with color scrollers and also MAC 2000 Wash fixtures and needed a hard edge fixture which would be able to cut through 50k of wash lighting. As I also knew that I wanted to have an animation wheel to create directional lighting effects, the MAC III Profile was the perfect choice.”
Watson used the MAC III Profiles, outfitted with custom gobos, in conjunction with a number of Martin MAC 2000 Performance units. “I chose the MAC III for the brightness and quality of the beam as well as the animation wheel, which I adore,” he said. “The zoom range proved to be an absolute winner and of course the fixture's ability to create red from the color mixing system is a real novelty and a welcome one at that.”
Watson placed six MAC III Profile units on the front truss for front key lighting and for texture washes of both the band and the set. The remaining six fixtures were mounted on the highest of the rear trusses and used for rear band lighting and aerial beam texturing.
Launched earlier this fall, the MAC III Profile has been field-tested on tours, including tours featuring James Blunt and Staind, and has been used on several television productions. The Raphael tour was the first where the instruments have been part of the rig from the start.
“The reliability of the units has been wonderful and in fact the only issues we have had are a few sticking dimmers that have come good after a reset,” Watson said. “Having worked with several launch fixtures in the past from various manufacturers I had prepared myself for a period of ‘teething troubles’ but that just hasn't happened. The fixtures have worked really, really well and I am very impressed with them. I can't wait to use the MAC III Profile on my next tour and explore more of its features and possibilities.”
Other Martin fixtures on the show include 13 MAC 2000 Performances, placed on the rear sub hung trusses also doing rear band work with the remainder on the floor backlighting the low chiffon backdrop. Six MAC 2000 Washes were used on the front truss for band and set lighting and the remainder were on the floor lighting the band from the side, the chiffon backdrop and uplighting the trussing and industrial lamps.
Watson made a special point of praising the “fantastic and hardworking lighting, set, rigging and production team who were so great to work with,” and also gave kudos to “Jan Lambrecht from Arpege, who was wonderfully helpful and understanding.”
CREW
Production Manager: Vincent Pitras
Production Company: TS3 (directed by Thierry Suc)
TS3 manager on tour: Bernard Désage, Julie Cheron (Assistant)
Lighting Designer, Production Designer: Andi Watson
Lighting Supplier: Arpège Son Lumière
Crew Chief & Lighting Operator: Florian Camus
Automated Lighting Tech: Jérôme Prévost
Lighting Tech & Network Specialist: Pascal Vittoz
Lighting Tech & Dimmers: Martial Blond
Lighting Tech & Followspot Operator: Ronan Garnier
Set Carpenter & Jielde Manipulator: Jean Schteyer
Riggers: Jonathan Ketterer, Tahar Rahmani
GEAR
Front Lighting Truss
04 x 3m Sections A type 0.52m Trussing (Aluminium)
02 x 45º Sections of 3.5m Diameter (external) Circle Truss (0.52m)
06 x Martin MAC III™ Profile Intelligent Fixtures
01 x Martin MAC 2000 Performance™ Intelligent Fixture
06 x Martin MAC 2000 Wash™ Intelligent Fixtures
05 x Horizontal DWE 8 Lights c/w heatshield, Custom Scrolls
01 x Wybron 1.2kW ‘SuperBeam’ light
01 x Top Mounted, Low Profile Spot Seat
01 x Mounting Brackets/Operator Handle for Beamlight
03 x 5º Source Four Profiles
01 x 20m x 0.6m Black Velvet Truss Border*
Metalwork (Pipes, Snapbraces, Clamps Etc)
Circle Lighting Truss
01 x 3.5m A type 0.52m Trussing Circle (Aluminium)
08 x Raphael BB7 Factory Lamps – Custom Shell for BB7
04 x 5º Source Four Profiles
02 x 25m by 0.6m Black Velvet Truss Border *
Various Pipes and Gallows for Rigging Fixtures
Rear Scenic Truss
07 x 3m Sections A type 0.52m Trussing (Aluminium)
02 x 45º Angled Corners 0.52m Trussing (Aluminium)
06 x Martin MAC III Profile™ Intelligent Fixtures
03 x 5k Fresnels c/w Scrollers and Barn Doors
08 x Bulkhead Lights (Colour TBC)
06 x Eggstrobes
Various Snap Braces and Pipe
Side Sub Hung Lighting Trusses
14 x 3m Sections 0.3m Trussing (Aluminium)
12 x Martin MAC 2000 Performance™ Intelligent Fixtures
06 x 5k Fresnels c/w Scrollers and Barn Doors
12 x Bulkhead Lights (Colour TBC)
16 x Eggstrobes
06 x High Power ‘Fuzz’ Lights Colour TBC
12 x Sub Hang Chains
Lower Cyc Truss
07 x 3m Sections 0.3m Trussing (Aluminium)
02 x 45º Angled Corners 0.52m Trussing (Aluminium)
01 x 21m x 3m Dark Grey Chiffon Gauze with bottom pipe pocket
01 x Custom angled pipe for weighting the chiffon
Support Scenic Truss
04 x 3m Sections 0.3m Trussing (Aluminium)
01 x 12m x 9m Black Trevira Drape
Floor
07 x Restored Jielde 1950s 6 Arm Factory Lights
07 x Martin MAC 2000 Performance™ Intelligent Fixtures
10 x Martin MAC 2000 Wash™ Intelligent Fixtures
06 x Martin Atomic 3000™ Strobes c/w Martin Atomic Colors™ Scrollers
08 x Color Kinetics iW Blast LED Fixtures
08 x Pulsar 45º Chromaflood TriColour Floor LED Fixtures
08 x Lowell 650w Omni
06 x Bars of Four Par 36 ACL (Long Nose) on Individual Circuits
04 x Cirrus CS6 Water Crackers/Equivalent Hazers
02 x G300 Smoke MAChines/Equivalent Smoke MAChines
06 x Varispeed Pedestal Fans
Control
01 x grandMA Full Size Console + Spare
02 x High Resolution 19” External LCD Monitors
Misc.
01 x 3m x 3m x 0.3m Drum Riser.
1 Ton Motor Points inc. rigging etc
1/2 Ton Motor Points inc. rigging etc
Minimum 8 Stations Clearcom Intercom System
All Dimming, Mains, Cables, etc
Rigging, Miscellaneous Scaff etc
02 x Sets of Custom Metal Gobos for MAC III Profile™
02 x Sets of Martin/DHA Metal Gobos for MAC III™ Profiles
Photos: Allan Toft; Zenith, St. Etienne, France; Nov. 25, 2008
For more information, please visit www.martin.com.
