The set is dominated by a tracking staircase unit where the band and back-up vocals live, entirely fitted with Barco's OLite modules. Complementing the staircase unit are drapes, which fly or track in and out to create not only additional scenery but also projection surfaces.
"Beyonce wanted something simple yet sophisticated. The aesthetic is very clean and simple, and the technology is neat," notes Justin Collie who created the performance environment design for Artfag LLC. "Video is an integral part of the show and the visual effects created with the layers of video are particularly deep. There are regular LEDs, projections and soft LED. The grandMA is always our favourite in terms of multitasking. No other console would have come close. Its programming and design was a success, especially considering the short turnaround time coming out of rehearsal into new show formats."
"The video routing of all media servers, the Encore system and 14 DL2s is done entirely from the grandMA via Control Freak's Encore DMX bridge," says programmer Demfis Fyssicopulos. "This proved to be an intuitive task due to the console's customisable layouts and easy access to fixture attributes. A key feature of the console that makes controlling all the video components of the show is the 'Smart' window. It is an active display of possible fixture features that automatically changes according to fixture selection."
Fyssicopulos and Pat Brannon, lighting director for the tour, programmed the show on two grandMAs networked on multi-user mode, then the consoles were switched to Full Tracking for playback during the tour. The gear controlled by the grandMAs includes 60 x VL3000 spots, 58 x MAC 2000 washes, six Robe1200 spots, two Hippo systems, 10 x FagPods, three Quazars, Martin 14 QFX 150's and 23 x mirror balls.
(Jim Evans)
