LONDON — Lighting designer/director Ali Bale, who has used Avolites consoles for the last 15 years, specified an Avolites Pearl Expert console to control lighting for the Kings of Leon’s Only By The Night tour.
“It’s a perfect sized desk for an arena tour of this size,” Bale said. Having the additional top row of 30 faders available makes “all the difference,” added Bale, who also credited the console for its compact footprint.
Bale has worked for Kings of Leon since 2005, when he was originally asked onboard by creative designer and co-LD Paul Normandale. On this tour, Bale also worked with Phil Woodhead, video director, and Phil Haynes, live visuals director & Catalyst digital media server programmer/operator.
Two Catalyst digital media servers are being used, running a pre-release version of the latest V4.2 software which gives 10 submixes on 16 layers. They are outputting the nine-camera IMAG mix and assorted playback content to 1,000 tiles of Barco MiTrix screen and 270 Element Labs VersaTUBE HDs, which are arranged in 10 varying sized pods attached to the front of 10 individual lighting trusses.
The creative concept for this latest KOL tour is to achieve a fluid synergy of video, movement and lighting, with Bale, Haynes and Woodhead all operating from the FOH position. The 10 trusses controlled via a Kinesys automation system are operated by Yose Lawson and Andy Beller support the lighting rig.
The 10 lighting pods are what initially prompted Haynes to go for the V4.2 software – because he wanted the ability to mix each pod individually.
He says, “Although content is king, there are some song visuals that are created in Catalyst just using the power of the FX and colour FX to create unique looks. This is achieved using a simple image transformed into a dynamic visual via Catalyst magic."
Playback material is a collage of new and existing footage and includes two authorized Black & White Hammer Films B-movies which have been re-edited and treated in Catalyst. Approximately 40 songs worth of playback content is programmed into the Catalysts, of which about 22 are chosen for each night’s set.
The Catalysts are triggered via a Hog iPC console running in Hog II mode, They’re used to produce positional and layering effects with the cameras, which can change the shape of anything appearing on the MiTrix – so it can be slanted, horizontal, vertical, layered, tiled, etc.
The outputs of the 9 cameras – 1 Sony D50 at FOH, 4 operated Robo cams onstage and 4 static mini cams, 3 onstage and one at FOH – are all sent from Woodhead’s GV Kayak switcher to Haynes’ Catalysts where they’re tweaked for every song – be it positional, sizing, coloring, graphics, etc.
This adds versatility and interactivity to the IMAG visuals and also relies on the spontaneity and improvisational abilities of Haynes and Woodhead. Haynes can output these as one single or up to eight different camera shots. “It’s a great illustration of Phil’s Catalyst skills” said Woodhead, “And it’s great for IMAG to be involved in the whole song ‘look’ equation rather then just doing its own thing."
“It’s a big progression from the standard IMAG and abstract playback and band images we were doing on the last tour,” said Haynes, adding that it’s an enjoyable and democratic way to work. “We can all pool our individual talents to construct that collective big picture."
Special effects for the song “My Party," for example, include a sequence where four interactive audio inputs are sent to Woodhead from sound and live-mixed with a waveform video effect via the Kayak and Catalyst. This then appears on the VersaTubes and MiTrix surfaces so fans can "see" what the band is singing and playing, simultaneously hearing it in real time.
The designers also have an assortment of tightly cued tied-in looks with colors and texturing which are executed via the Catalyst. During “Charmer,” when lead singer Caleb Followill screams, a specific effect blips up on the MiTrix.
The lighting system also includes 18 Martin Professional MAC 2000 Washes, 20 MAC 700 Washes, 11 Atomic strobes, 23 4-lite Moles — six with scrollers, eight Omni photo-floods and four 4.5K Big Lites. The rig also includes nine 9-way Svoboda battens and six individual floor PARs.
Lite Alternative supplied all the lighting for the UK and European legs of the tour. The Catalyst gear was provided to Lite Alternative via Catalyst’s UK distributors Projected Image Digital (PID). They are fitted with 2 Apple MAC 3.2 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeon processors, 4GB RAM, an 8800 Graphics card, 128GB Solid State Drives and Active Silicon HDSDI Capture Cards.
All video equipment for the tour apart from the Catalysts is being supplied by XL Video.
For more information, please visit www.avolites.com and www.pi-digital.co.uk.
