Purple Rain of Flares on Grammys
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Every year since its introduction in 2013, the super-bright Solaris Flare has played a key role on the Grammys. With an average of 20 acts per show, that’s 100 performances, each with its own distinct look, proving that the Flare’s versatility is second to none.
Says lighting designer Noah Mitz, “The Flare has become the de facto standard for LED strobes on all of our shows. They are our go-to option for their intensity, reliability, and excellent color rendition on camera.”
“We use the Flares to add specific tempo information to music,” adds lighting director Patrick Boozer. “There is always a lot of change in television and schedules are very compressed. Having a dedicated system of Flares to pull out specific musical moments allows us to cue very quickly.
“The Flare has been an awesome tool in the field and, with its added wash light and pixel-map capabilities, a major upgrade over previous generations of strobes. I've always been particularly impressed by the solid performance of the Flare – from its smooth dimming curve to its reliability. If you are going to pop 150 strobes to full in the crescendo of a ballad, you really need to have faith that the tool is going to perform well and the Flare has never failed us.”
Boozer continues, “As a programmer I really appreciate how the fixture's profile is built. Allowing the user to control the ‘Strobe’ and the ‘Pixel’ as separate channels allows a flexibility not seen in other fixtures.”
Lighting Designers for the 59Th Annual Grammy Awards are Bob Dickinson and Noah Mitz. Lighting directors and programmers include Andy O’Reilly, Patrick Boozer, Ryan Tanker, Mike Berger, and Madigan Stehly. Charles Dabezies and Will Gossett are assistant lighting directors. Producers are NARAS & AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC, and lighting design was contracted by Full Flood Inc.
(Jim Evans)
