PVRIS may still be in its infancy, but the band recognized the significance of this prime exposure, and were keen to invest time in ensuring their appearance was memorable. They turned to Okulus' lighting designers and programmers, James Scott and Louis Oliver, to bring their ideas to life.
Scott and Oliver decided the unique appearance and reliability of Ayrton's MagicBlade-R fixtures were a sure-fire way to achieve this and used them as a dynamic backdrop to the band's equally dynamic performance.
"We wanted to give the band a look that would have an impact on this, their first televised appearance, and that in front of an audience of 1-2 million viewers on this prime time American TV show," says Oliver. "Knowing the size of the audience, and the social media and online coverage that would follow, we wanted to be sure to present the band in a strong, signature way, and provide them with a solid piece of footage that emphasized the look and brand of the band."
Scott and Oliver used the MagicBlade-R units to create a matrix of light around the band, and programmed them to create some strong looks and dramatic sweeps that looked great on camera.
The MagicBlade-R units were rigged vertically on 10 8ft poles behind the band in a four-high x 10-wide configuration to fit within the restricted space of the Kimmel studios. "The 'Lobby' performance area has a low trim and an angled upstage wall which meant we had to keep things simple," says Scott. "We needed a fixture that was compact and full of features. We aren't using any colour in the campaign, so we are really only playing with intensity and movement. The MagicBlade-R was perfect as it's one fixture with many light sources."
Scott and Oliver programmed the show in advance using cast WYSIWYG software. "This gave us the chance to experiment with the MagicBlade and get the most out of it, and to play with the structure of the visuals they produced in the grid."
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! performance came ahead of a US tour in which PVRIS will support Fall Out Boy, before embarking on a UK headline tour in the spring which will return to the US later this year. Okulus, with the aid of Ayrton, will be supporting them all the way.
(Jim Evans)
