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Los Angeles, January 13,
2006
A pair of grandMAs is helping lighting designer Daniel Boland dazzle
audiences nationwide with BLUE MAN GROUP’s “How to
Be a
Megastar Tour 2.0.” The innovative performers are playing
arena-sized venues and select theaters coast to coast with the
production in which they download a tongue-in-cheek
‘how-to-manual’ on becoming a rock star. Joined by
an
eight-piece band, BLUE MAN GROUP subsequently take the audience through
-- step-by-step and song-by-song -- every head-bobbing, fist-pumping
moment of a real concert.
“The show is fairly unique compared to productions
I’ve
done before,” Boland notes. “It’s a cross
between
theater and rock ’n roll and a pretty interesting
blend.”
Boland uses two networked grandMAs to control all the lighting and
video for the show. “We’ve got it down to one cue
list. I
just push ‘go,’” he explains.
“We have the
video program on one grandMA and the lighting program on the other.
Lighting is saved into one cuestack and video into another. The
lighting cuestack triggers the video cuestack.”
Scharff Weisberg, which programmed BLUE MAN GROUP’s last tour
and
served as design consultants and system engineers for the sit-down
shows, furnished “How to Be a Megastar Tour 2.0”
with three
Green Hippo HD players, an iLite 6XP LED wall, Olite 510 LED strip
displays, two Christie Roadster S+16 projectors, and a complement of
Sony cameras.
The Green Hippo HD players run through Artnet boxes into an ethernet
system. The video switcher for IMAG as well as the iLite wall and Olite
strip displays are also controlled by the grandMA.
“I love working with the grandMAs,” Boland reports.
“The thing that attracts me the most is how user friendly it
is.
I’m able to set it up to accommodate my programming habits
for a
smooth transition from any other console."
"Dan is a real grandMA veteran and I know that the console has an
effect on his design work due to the feature set that he is so used to.
I can’t wait to see the show," commented A.C.T Lighting
President
and CEO Bob Gordon.
The Artistic Director for BLUE MAN GROUP is Caryl Glaab. The project
manager for Scharff Weisberg was John Ackerman and Scharff Weisberg's
programmer was Sean Cagney.
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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