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Los Angeles, October 27,
2006
grandMA consoles were featured in two back-to-back high-profile live
broadcasts from New York City's famed Radio City Music Hall: the MTV
Video Music Awards 2006 (VMA) and Fashion Rocks, a music and fashion
extravaganza on CBS that kicked off the city's semi-annual Fashion
Week. Scharff Weisberg Lighting furnished the grandMAs in support of
lighting designer Allen Branton. A.C.T. Lighting is the exclusive
distributor of the grandMA in North America.
Branton, a 30-year veteran of the entertainment lighting business, has
been doing MTV's VMA show since 1989; he won a 1993 CableACE award for
lighting that year's broadcast. Branton has designed concert lighting
for many top artists and has many TV credits, including dozens of
episodes of MTV's UNplugged series and the half-time show for Super
Bowl 2003.
Since Branton doesn't run consoles, he deferred to lighting director
and programmer Felix Peralta's choice of the grandMA, a choice that was
seconded by lighting director and programmer Kevin Lawson and upheld by
Branton himself. "When we do these shows we're caught between two
worlds: We need to do something in music TV that looks like a rock
concert, but we have to be in total control, constantly editing light
levels and programs," Branton notes. "More than half of what we do is
refining the TV product. The grandMA is great at working in that kind
of creative environment where we have a high tempo, excruciating
attention to detail, and massive editing and reediting of cues and
values."
Scharff Weisberg provided two pairs of grandMA consoles and eight
grandMA NSPs for the VMA show (a total of eleven NSPs were used). One
pair ran the majority of automated lights and lights driven by action
or music. A second pair controlled the remaining lights, audience
lights, backlights and anything tied to close-up photography and
utility functions.
Branton characterizes the VMA show as "probably the largest and
highest-degree of difficulty project I do" thanks to its dense content
and the resultant expansive inventory of lighting equipment.
"For a show like this we've arrived at the point where 95 percent of
the lights are automated," Branton notes. "You need to have the
flexibility and capability to move fast, program fast and change your
mind. We don't have time to handle a lot of conventional lights."
The main lighting package included a large complement of VARI*LITE
moving fixtures, including 62 VL500B, 54 VL2500 spots, 10 VL1000 TSD,
51 VL2500 washes, 40 VL3000 spots, 41 VL3000 washes, and 30 VL3500
spots plus numerous non-standard gobos.
Additional lights included 25 Atomic Strobes with Color Scrollers, a
quantity of Color Kinetics LED fixtures, 60 Altman Spectra PARs, and 70
Color Blast 12s. Conventional fixtures included 36 Source 4 ellipsoidal
spots, 30 Source 4 PARs, 30 Par 64 Blacks, plus fresnels and Xenon
follow spots.
"The grandMA is the most versatile console for TV out there," declares
Felix Peralta. "I couldn't imagine doing these shows on any other
system."
For the VMA show, "there were a lot of elements involved, including
moving set pieces, moving LED streams, changing camera angles. The
grandMA gave us the flexibility to adjust to the complexities of the
broadcast within a very short time. We used group masters a lot which
allowed us to inhibit a group of lights. They enabled me to shade on
the fly and work with the video engineer to monitor light levels." The
grandMA's multiuser environment also made it easy for Peralta, Kevin
Lawson and head gaffer David Oakes to share cues and patches.
"The support from A.C.T. was fantastic," Peralta continues. "When we
ran into a problem, grandMA's manufacturers in Germany fixed it with
fresh software, giving us a very stable system that was essential for a
live show."
Peralta and Lawson each manned two grandMAs to control lighting for the
Fashion Rocks special which proved to be a less complex production.
An extensive supply of VARI*LITE fixtures once again came into play
with 30 VL500Bs, 10 VL1000 TSD units, 24 VL2500 spots, 24 VL2500
washes, 20 VL3000 spots, 12 VL3000 washes and 20 VL3500 spots. Also
provided were a quantity of Color Kinetics LED fixtures, including 150
Color Blast 12s and 12-inch iColor Cove MX. Conventional fixtures were
a complement of Source 4 ellipsoidal spots and PARs, 132 Par 64 Blacks,
and fresnels.
In addition to Peralta and Lawson, Tom Beck also served as lighting
director. Brian Tylke was the assistant to Allen Branton, and the
lighting technical crew featured Brad Hafer, David Hunkins, Russ
Keitel, Brett Puwalski, McClain Moss and Michael Lee.
Support from A.C.T. came from Bob Gordon, Joe Cabrera and Mario
Collazo.
"Allen is so experienced in both the live concert and television
environments. He really gets it. Also, he has assembled such a crack
team around him, and I know that if we can please him, we can please
anyone," commented Bob Gordon, President and CEO of A.C.T Lighting. LOS
ANGELES (October 27, 2006) -- grandMA consoles were featured in two
back-to-back high-profile live broadcasts from New York City's famed
Radio City Music Hall: the MTV Video Music Awards 2006 (VMA) and
Fashion Rocks, a music and fashion extravaganza on CBS that kicked off
the city's semi-annual Fashion Week. Scharff Weisberg Lighting
furnished the grandMAs in support of lighting designer Allen Branton.
A.C.T. Lighting is the exclusive distributor of the grandMA in North
America.
MA Lighting is
exclusively distributed by A.C.T Lighting.
A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T
Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge
products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company
provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its
clients.
For more information call 818-707-0884.
Copyright © ACT Lighting 2009. All rights reserved.
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