"Since I first saw the system I've wanted to try it out," said Bennett. "Rammstein has proved ideal - the six band members all have strong ideas of their own, plus they've given me a free rein." Bennett's use of CyberHoist is studiously considered; in spite of the band's heavy musical idiom this is not an endless parade of gratuitous rig movements, more a well-crafted piece of aerial choreography. "The system gives you subtle moves, fast moves - whatever you want to do," adds Bennett, "and it's proved very reliable."
There are a total of 18 moving elements - mainly rectangular frames filled with the venerable Par 64, plus four sections of truss fitted with Mac 2000s, all supplied by PRG Lighting. All 18 are flown from a total of 36 dedicated CyberHoist motors, and the entire system, controlled via InMotion 3D object-oriented software, has been programmed and is run by Arjen Hofma with assistance from Jochen Kerkhofs of Flashlight Rental.
"This is easily the most complex moving rig I've ever run," said Hofma, who first started working with the CyberHoist system back in the Spring of 2004. "There have been many changes to the show since rehearsals; we started with 22 numbers, that has now been reduced to 19, so that's prompted the need to re-plot some of the movement cues. But the software easily recalculates the hoist speed required - including soft start and deceleration times - to ensure the moving objects arrive at their correct destinations at the time the cue demands."
It's that precise hoist speed control that has impressed the lighting crew from PRG, as crew chief Michael O'Connor revealed. "It's very smooth, I like the way it decelerates. Those moving units are quite heavy - all of the Par frames contain Atomic strobes and Pixel Line as well, and can weigh as much as 750kgs, so when the whole system of eighteen parts is in motion that deceleration is important, especially when we're rigged under weight limits; like when we've used outdoor roofs to support the grid. The other really nice thing about CyberHoists is how quiet they are, you really don't hear the movement at all."
(Lee Baldock)
