NASHVILLE,– As one of the most highly regarded songwriters today, MCA Nashville recording artist Clare Dunn is now making a name for herself on tour. Having already opened for many of country music’s biggest stars, the Colorado native has embarked on her first solo tour and production designer Mike Marcario was brought on to create a high-energy design that could accentuate the artist. To bring the full design together, Marcario worked with Nashville-based tour provider Elite Multimedia.
More details from Elite Multimedia (www.elitemultimedia.com):
“Clare’s live show is a super high-energy and a fun experience even without touring production,” began Marcario. “I’m very happy to have gotten the call to help take the show to the next level with some visual aspects. When we started production meetings, our biggest goals for the design were that it would be bright and vibrant to make a statement for multiple sized rooms, compact to fit in a bus trailer with existing backline/merch/etc., and possess a low power draw to fit on only a few circuits of wall power. Additionally, she would not be traveling with an LD or tech, so it would need to fire from her backing tracks. With all this in mind, I got together with Elite Multimedia to find the ideal system that could work within all the design parameters, and we ended up with a fantastic production design that gave us everything we needed.” Elite Multimedia supplied him with a complete lighting and LED video system that has the ability to be self-triggered through the artists backing tracks.
During the design process, Marcario made a visit to Elite Multimedia and together they began to discuss the products that would best overcome the design challenges for the tour. In the end, Marcario decided upon a production design that included Clay Paky A.Leda Wash K5 LED luminaires, Chauvet SlimPAR LED luminaires, and PixelFLEX FLEXLite 12.5mm LED video technology, along with grandMA on PC and an ArKaos Media Server for control.
“Her design has four truss towers that are about five feet tall, each containing two SlimPAR Hex-7 LED pars, an A.Leda K5, and a FLEXLite LED panel,” continued Marcario. “In this configuration, I’m using the FLEXLite panels for blinder effects and eye-candy. We went with the FLEXLite 12.5mm product because it’s a way to cover a lot of surface area on stage for a low-cost. The K5’s are in full extended mode allowing for some low-resolution pixel mapping and neat aerial effects. Finally, the workhorses of the rig are the SlimPAR fixtures. I wanted to have multiple ways to accent the music, so at any point I can use them as a blinder, a strobe, a wash, or a big accent fixture. They really help me create a wonderful wall of light behind the band.”
Now that the lighting and LED video elements were put in place, Marcario needed to focus his attention on the programming for the design. Knowing they would not have a touring technician to run a traditional lighting console or control the video, he had to develop a system that could run the show as planned, but also provide the artist with the freedom to take the show in an improvisational direction as well.
“The idea that there would be no touring LD or video programmer was probably the biggest obstacle we had to overcome in creating the design,” explained Marcario. “It had to be easy for the existing crew to set up, so everything is pre-wired and the whole rig only takes a few circuits with the data living in a center rack and programming triggered by the bands backing tracks.”
With the complete tour design now in place, Clare Dunn is currently on the road and making stops across the United States giving country music fans across the nation the opportunity to experience the artist that Billboard Magazine, Rolling Stone, and USA Today all call “One to Watch”.
“With Clare being such a great performer and a killer guitarist, I really needed to create a production design that gave her the platform to be showcased nationwide,” concluded Marcario. “Working with Elite Multimedia they understood exactly what it was we were trying to accomplish, and they took the time to help us create a show that both audiences and promoters will definitely want to see again making a powerful statement for Clare as an artist.”
