The company charters entire flagships from different cruise lines for its holidays, and in this case, the vessel was the 2200 passenger Infinity from the Celebrity line. The large pool deck was set up with a stunning laser and light show for five glorious all-night DJ parties, celebrating the occasion in style.
Lighting equipment was supplied by Paradigm Lighting from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The rig was designed, crew chief-ed, tech'd, programmed and operated buy Guy Smith of Guy Smith Lighting - also the resident designer for Atlantis and a veteran of 27 cruises.
The ship's crew built and helped maintain the rig, and production management and logistics for the special celebratory event was handled by John Finen III.
Smith had previously used Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs on shows in New York, and had also conducted extensive research into the fixtures. Up to this point, he'd mainly used them as long throw programmable spots because of "their superior optics and movement". He then used 16 of them as part of a larger rig for a Deborah Cox concert in Los Angeles in the New Year, and was "so impressed I decided to use them again as soon as I could".
After thorough testing and inspection, he says: "They are very bright, clear, and durable. I like the movement, and the standard selection of gobos is excellent."
Not wanting to repeat the light show he'd used on recent cruises over the last two years, he began investigating where he could source Robes for the Atlantis 15th anniversary show. He was alerted to Paradigm by Robe America's Tony Perez. "I immediately called Paradigm's Barbara Aztiazarain who was very eager to help," he recalls, and so they came to supply his moving lights for the occasion.
For the show, the ground-supported trusses were constructed on the deck of the ship and lifted into position by the ship's technical crew. Sixteen ColorSpot 1200ATs and ten ColorWash 1200 ATs were hung from a variety of positions - rigged to the trusses, and to pipes over the existing ship's stage, and on either side of the pool, about six metres above the 11th deck level.They were all controlled by a WholeHog II console and a wing.
The shows ran outdoors on the ship over the course of a week, complete with salt spray, windy nights, and hot sun beating down on the fixtures all day long. "They didn't have any problems at all with the weather," says Smith, adding, "They are very rugged fixtures."
"I'll definitely be using Robe again" he says, "In fact, I plan to do so whenever I can," and he's already asking other vendors if they can procure them depending on where he is working. "The new Robes are destined to be the workhorses of my shows for the foreseeable future," he concludes.
(Chris Henry)
