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Los Angeles, June 6,
2007
grandMA consoles are hitting the road for the long-awaited reunion tour
of The Police. During the World Tour 2007, the first for the band in 24
years, two full grandMA systems will drive 5 NSPs and four grandMA
media servers for lighting and video control. The grandMA is
exclusively distributed in the US by A.C.T. Lighting.
The look of the tour follows the evolution of the band’s
career,
but overall “the simplicity of the show is
striking,” says
lighting director Danny Nolan. “There are three guys on the
stage, and the design builds over time from simple to spectacular via
effective lighting or cues, all keeping in the style of The Police. But
despite some big, striking looks, we keep the focus on the artists.
That’s what Patrick is famous for.”
The stage puts the band in a contemporary setting with unobstructed
views all around them. Sting and Andy play to the left and the right of
the stage, as they used to, while Stewart's drum kit center stage is
supplemented with a full percussion rig, which rises up behind him. At
the rear of the stage, seven automated lighting towers appear from
under the stage at various times during the performance.
The simple oval shape of the stage is echoed by the lighting grid above
it. During the two-hour show references to how the band was seen in
performance 20 years ago are illustrated by lighting and lighting
effects from that period. Contrasting with the retro look is the
state-of-the-art technology and projection employed for the rest of the
show.
The oval stage features oval moving trusses, moving lifts and six
ribbon lifts. Two PA wings feature 48x40-foot custom low-resolution LED
screens from Screenworks, which display strong and simple graphic
content. Screenworks also furnished six high-resolution Toshiba 10mm
LED screens which display IMAG and selected content. Upstaging,
Inc.’s production support department fabricated structure,
which
enable VersaTubes to mount to the face of the custom 70x40-foot Tomcat
oval truss.
One grandMA media server serves the low-res screens and VersaTubes
while three other grandMA servers feed the high-res screens. All are
controlled by the grandMA console. High res video first passes through
video director Kevin Williams’s Grass Valley switcher which
also
sends live feeds and imagery from DoReMi servers to the high-res
screens.
Among the automated lighting instruments controlled by the grandMA are
Little Big Lites which produce big-beam effects; Coemar Infinity washes
for other beam effects; Robe 2500 Profiles and Mac 250 washes to
highlight the front of the stage; and Mac 700 Profiles in the towers.
Conventional lights controlled by the grandMA are Par ACLs, Par 64s,
2-light and 8-light Molefays, and Maxi 12s. Atomic Strobes are on hand
to create additional effects.
A recent grandMA convert, Nolan “loves” working
with the
console. “It’s a great desk,” he reports.
“The
matrix control for conventional lighting is fantastic, and the server
is coming together really well for the video aspect of the
show.”
“The grandMA has a lot of features we’ve used on
the
show,” he notes, “like the matrix-mapping system --
we have
all these Maxi 12 lights that we run through several chases. We use the
grandMA video to feed the VersaTubes and LEDs. And the towers are
triggered from the grandMA. grandMA’s network is fantastic --
we
plug in the media servers wherever we want to. The system and its set
up is very flexible. You can do a lot with the grandMA, and
I’m
impressed by it.”
In addition to triggering the entire show from the grandMA,
“we’re thinking of putting MIDI on the desk as well
since
there are loads of intros and outros with big drum beats,”
Nolan
reports.
"Patrick seems to like the grandMA as well," continues Nolan. He likes
thing to happen. And when they're happening and don't take a long time,
he's happy."
William Francis is tour manager for The Police World Tour 2007 with
Charlie Hernandez production manager and co-set designer, and Tim
McWilliams world tour promoter rep for T.N.A. Touring.
"We always love working with Patrick. He has an artistic sense and
cuing touch that makes a show sparkle," comments A.C.T Lighting's
President and CEO, Bob Gordon. "Danny has learned that the grandMA has
an unequalled wealth of tools to support Patrick’s artistic
vision and sophisticated cuing structure. When coupled with the
integrated grandMA video media servers, the control system has no
equal. When you add Upstaging to the mix, we have a team of people and
equipment to be truly proud of."
"Beside the passion for our products, the main part of the MA
philosophy is taking care of the people using them," concludes MA
Lighting's Ralph-Joerg Wezorke. "Thanks to Patrick’s and
Danny’s open mind towards grandMA as a fully integrated
system
including video, we got the chance to accompany and support their
programming process from the early beginning. From the 3D model and the
network planning to pre-programming and again to the final
show-programming, our system-specialist Daniel Ridano has dealt with
the particular requirements towards the grandMA system onsite, while
Danny gets deeper and deeper into the finer points of programming.
Moreover the active participation of John Huddleston and his great team
at Upstaging rounded up the professional team work. The result is
marvelous and makes all of us at MA very proud."
CAT Entertainment Services of Los Angeles is providing power for the
tour; Stageco U.S. is supplying structural staging equipment and
supervisory personnel; and Tait Towers of Lititz, Pennsylvania
fabricated the custom rolling stage and performance environment for the
band and backline. Clair Bros/Showco, also in Lititz, is providing the
sound systems for the tour; Mike Keating is the show’s sound
engineer.
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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