|
Los Angeles, November
19,
2007
As Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band began the Magic tour, their
first full-scale tour of the US and Europe since 2002-2003, grandMA was
right there with them. A.C.T. Lighting is the exclusive distributor of
the grandMA in North America.
The Magic tour kicked off in Hartford, Connecticut on Oct. 2 the same
day the “Magic” album, Springsteen’s
first with The E
Street band in five years, was released by Columbia Records. The band
has just completed the North American leg of the tour.
For lighting designer Jeff Ravitz, it’s his first tour using
the
grandMA although he has deployed the console on a number of one-off TV
events. He characterizes the look of the Magic tour as
“clean,
dramatic, forceful and large scale” with the lighting design
supporting the magic generated by the band itself.
“Bruce is an artist who needs very little embellishment in
performance: We’re aware of that,” says Ravitz.
“That
being said, Bruce likes drama and mood, and we strive to keep pace.
There are not a lot of bells and whistles. Just nine or ten people on
stage who figure prominently in the show and need to get a thorough
lighting treatment. Everyone is lit as opposed to some other bands. We
have the really exciting musical dynamics of Bruce
Springsteen’s
music to keep track of times ten band members in a multitude of angles
and manners. It’s a complex show that comes off as very
simple.”
The grandMA controls a number of VARI*LITE 1000s which form the
backbone of the lighting rig. “They are used to key light
each
band member in quite a precise, sculpted sort of way,” Ravitz
explains. “Layered over them is the Morpheus
FaderBeam™,
which provides an overall foundation for many of the looks of the show.
In addition, we have MAC 2000 Profiles and VARI*LITE 2500 spots for
patterning and texture plus six Martin LittleBig lights, six Morpheus
BrightBurst 2000s™ and a couple of three-inch
fresnels.”
He points out that the grandMA “is really called upon to do
an
awful lot. It’s very complicated to make the show look
simple;
it’s a huge task for our programmer, Jason Badger. As the
designer, I’m in the position of asking for what I want to
see,
and if the programmer is able to get it for me easily and quickly, I
know the board is performing efficiently. If not, I know it’s
bogging him down. The grandMA enabled us to move quite swiftly.
“Jason manages a lot of universes and really works the board
to
the max. And we’ve never had a control-related
delay,”
Ravitz continues. “We initially thought we would be mixing
media
on the show, and the grandMA emerged as the ideal console for that.
Although we aren’t doing that, now, it’s exciting
to know
the grandMA can futureproof us. It’s an investment for tours
to
come.”
"We are flattered to be specified as the console of choice on Jeff
Ravitz’s largest touring concert project. Jeff is such a
consummate professional that the choice of the grandMA really means
something to us. When you couple that with the programming magic of
Jason Badger and the fact that it’s all for the 'BOSS,' well,
it
just doesn’t get any better than that," commented A.C.T
Lighting
President and CEO Bob Gordon.
John Hoffman is the touring grandMA operator for Magic. Todd Ricci is
the show’s Lighting Director.
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.
|
