Out on her Gypsy Heart tour, multi-platinum selling artist Colbie Caillat is fond of the Cuepix light cubes. "The artist has told us that the cubes were the highlight of the tour, fetching the most compliments and inquiries of any other element," says Paul Hoffman, owner of full-service lighting production company Pulse Lighting, who provided the complete visual package for the tour. "In fact, she looks forward to incorporating them into her touring plans in 2015."
Built by Steelfab LLC of Denver, "who did a fantastic job" Paul says, each cube consisted of six Elation Cuepix Panels mounted in a steel frame. Powered by advanced Chip On Board (COB) LED technology, each Cuepix Panel measures 21.6" x 21.6" square and is made up of 5 x 5 30-watt RGB LEDs with individual pixel control which make more creative effects possible, as well as letter and number projections. Capable of emitting a full spectrum of colors, the light cubes were designed by Pulse Lighting's Michael Cummings, who also handled set design for the tour.
"The Cuepix are very bright and easy to work with. We never ran them above 50% intensity," Paul says. "We chose them over other products because of our existing relationship with Elation, excellent pricing, and their availability, which allowed this to happen in a very compressed timeframe. We had to act very quickly and Chris Healy at The Healy Group has always been great in helping us meet deadlines and solve logistic problems." The Cuepix Panels' larger size and greater number of pixels compared to similar products, its robust design and excellent dimming were also factors in its choice.
Lighting design for the Gypsy Heart tour was by Kenneth Gribbon of Pulse Lighting, a design that originally had six cubes hung in a gentle arc over the set. At one point in the design the light cubes were used only to project warm white but as the design progressed Colbie Caillat preferred a full colour solution and the total number was cut to five cubes. "We started the tour by hanging all five but on the first or second stop we started hanging three and putting two on the downstage floor left and right, which Ryan Bishop and Colbie decided they liked best," Paul comments.
Working closely with tour manager Ryan Bishop, Pulse Lighting handled all lighting aspects of the tour, including lighting design, lighting direction and equipment supply. "We provided the complete visual package, working on aesthetic concepts and ideas directly with the artist - all the way down to the cables and screws that make it all work," Paul concludes.
(Jim Evans)
