Chauvet colours Epik High global experience
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Tablo, DJ Tukutz and Mithra Jin, the trio that make up Epik High, welcome fans into their world, by sharing stories and experiences. The crowd eagerly accepts the invitation with their warm, enthusiastic (and often loud) response their heroes.
“My biggest challenge was protecting my ears from the sound of the fans around me,” said Aaron Sweatt, the LD and main programmer on the trio’s recently concluded global All Time High tour, which featured a lighting design by Julien Reux. “The emotional connection between these artists and their fans is really very remarkable.”
Given this connection, Reux, of Black Lantern Creative, included ample options for audience lighting in the rig he designed by beefing it up with 24 Chauvet Professional STRIKE Array 2 fixtures. He valued the output of the two-pod blinders for crowd lighting, as well as the photo friendly glow of the tungsten-like light.
“The amber tones in this show were great for the audience shots,” he said. “Our tour photographer and media, Bobo, loved the tungsten look for catching the audience in big moments.”
Sweatt added that the audience lighting also benefitted the performers on stage. “It’s a hip hop show, so when the artists start yelling, ‘Hands Up!’ you want them to be able to see the audience’s interaction,” he said. “The amber tungsten looks work great on the crowd. They’re something that feels right to me and how I choose to visually represent the song to the audience.”
Reux positioned the STRIKE Array fixtures behind blow-through video wall. This arrangement was useful in helping the show to start out small and end with a flourish. “I really wanted to reveal the Strike Arrays in a big way that the audience wouldn’t see them while waiting for the artists to go on,” he explained. “Instead, we decided to use them around the halfway mark when the energy started to escalate.”
Colours were selected to compliment the content created by video director Eddie Perez, who, along with production manager, Jesse Mancillas, and L2, Jacob Wick, contributed to the tour’s success.
In all cases, music was the overriding consideration when selecting colours. “For me, colour choice has always been something I felt inspired to do when hearing the song. This is more important than trying to connect or tie it back to artwork from the artist,” said Sweatt. “When I hear a song, a colour palette immediately comes to mind -- and that’s where the programming for each song lands. When songs are bright and upbeat, I love rolling with a CMY looks.”
