"During the shows, we may get a request from an artist about the approach to their performance so in terms of instrumentation, we design a plot to provide a wide variety of looks for situations we know we will come across," began O'Reilly. "In the production design for both shows, we have to have the best options for creation on site so in the plot we are looking for lights that are both strong and powerful, but also versatile in their functionality. We have to make sure that we can give the performances a variety of looks and that's where the VL4000 Spot really showcases what it can do."
As the production team was gearing up for the 2015 Grammy and Academy Awards, O'Reilly and his team were offered the opportunity to use the new VL4000 Spots to which they eagerly accepted. While he had previously only seen the VL4000 Spot in demos and online, he was excited to be able use them for himself.
"For the Beyoncé performance at the Grammy Awards, she was standing in front of 12 choir members which they wanted to have cross-lit so we needed floor lights to make this happen," he continued. "Since we didn't want the cross-light to hit Beyoncé, we needed lights that were strong enough to give us the levels desired on the choir but they also had to have shutters. To do this, we placed VL4000 Spots on each side of the stage and they performed perfectly. They are powerful with great optics and they light people very well."
"On the John Legend and Common performance at the Grammy Awards, they had light box windows which had the ability to rotate to an open position and we needed to be able to shoot light through them once opened. While in the past we might have had to use a much larger fixture to get the power needed, we didn't have to this year because we had the VL4000 Spots. Initially, we weren't sure if this was going to be a beam or a gobo style look, so the VL4000 Spots really worked out well because it was able to do both and we were able to decide on site. The intensity of the VL4000 Spots worked perfect for this shot as well."
He continues, "At the Academy Awards, we really viewed the VL4000 Spots as our 'ace in the hole' light. We first used them at the top of the show during the opening number with Neil Patrick Harris to give us a ballyhoo effect for the walk-on. For this, they provided a great hard-edge and bright look. We next used them to light a curtain of hanging crystals for the Rita Ora performance, and they worked great here too because they gave us the power needed, but also gave us the shutter cuts to keep the light off other scenic elements. We then used them again during the Maroon 5 performance to give us a graphic, beam light. In all instances of the show, they gave us so many great options and really showed us how valuable the VL4000 Spots can be in this type of production."
(Jim Evans)
