Production Manager, Dan Mercer; Lighting Designer, Graham Anderson; FOH Engineer, James McCullagh & Audio Crew Chief, Cameron Whaley;
SFX Crew members: Stuart Wickens & Daniel Pecora; disguise Operator, Jean-Pierre Jammaers.
jumping to the MA3, but realistically I know this tour will be out for a few
years and it’s a case of what I’m more likely to get my hands on.” He joked
that one of the greatest advantages of being both the designer and the
operator, means you can make decisions so that you don’t cause problems
for your future self.
Due to the intricacies of the lighting design, Timecode was a necessity.
This was overseen by Playback Engineer Romain Garnier backstage – more
from him later. “My main responsibilities during the show include calling
spots as well as some cues that involve some audience interaction,” stated
Anderson. “The show is a behemoth of programming. There is simply
no way I could launch ever ything manually. Programming-wise, I spread
ever ything out, rather than embedding ever ything into one cue stack. The
reason for this, like my console choice, all came down to foresight. So later
down the line, if I can’t get a certain fixture, it will be easy to swap in a new
model without having to redesign my whole show file.”SFX
ER Productions provided the special effects for the tour. With a crew
consisting of Daniel Pecora, Matt McCoy and Stuart Wickens, the trio
supplied a collection of lasers, confetti blasts, hazers and streamers.
Pecora, SFX Crew Chief, spoke to TPi about the touring experience.
“We have four Stadium Shot IIs, which fire off 20m x 5cm streamers
via Galaxis PFC Advanced Black Edition wireless control,” he began. “The
wireless solution has been increasingly useful as we are going through
various venue sizes and it gives us the flexibility of placement without the
limitation of cables.”
For the confetti looks, the crew deployed Typhoon blowers in the flown
rig, which were used for Larger Than Life and Shape Of My Heart. “We placed
the fans in such a way that, during Shape Of My Heart, the confetti falls onlyin the VIP area within the thrust – a special moment for those fans.” The
team also made used of six Look Solutions Unique Hazers to produce the
classic low-fog looks.
Laser Operator McCoy oversaw the impressive rig, which featured 18 ER
Production BB4s and six Storms. “We are using them a number of times in
the show,” commented Pecora.
“All the BB4s are on the automated trusses, with four of the Storms
in the rear, with the other two on the downstage edge. Thanks to the
diffraction wheel within the BB4, the beam can split to create massive looks
that fill the arena, while being completely safe for audiences.”VIDEO
Supplied by PRG, the DNA World Tour video design consisted of WinVision
9mm LEDs for both the upstage V-screen and the rear wall. Outlining video
setup was disguise Operator Jean-Pierre Jammaers. “The show is ver y
content driven from start to finish,” he began. “From my point of view, it
was fairly straightforward once it was programmed. We had to make some
modifications when we went into certain venues, but other than that, it
ran like clockwork.” Situating himself at FOH for the duration of the show,
Jammaers had each video segment triggered by an MA Lighting grandMA2.
“FOH is usually my preferred position as it’s easier to communicate to the
lighting team and gives you a better over view of the show,” he commented.
Driving the system were two disguise gx 2s – a main and a backup. The
operator admitted that he was still fairly new to disguise, but really enjoyed
working with the brand. He commented: “I’ve been really impressed by
the power of the disguise software. It’s relatively straightforward, with
user-friendly programming. Ever ything you need is just a click away. I’ve
used a selection of other ser vers and, for me, disguise has always been the
logical next step. Some of my favourite shows on this run have been whenBACKSTREET BOYS