Manny and lighting tech Danny Katz met this challenge with a lightshow that seemed to unfold effortlessly over an extended weekend of jam and funk music, serving up ever more opulent, colourful and free flowing looks. A big help in accomplishing this feat was provided by a powerful and flexible rig that featured a collection of Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional, supplied by 4Wall Entertainment.
"This project was a fun challenge, the kind that you crave as a lighting designer," said Manny. "Domefest had three theme nights. Thursday was Moonwalk: A Trip Through Space Friday was The Liquid: An Ocean Adventure and Saturday was Melting Lights: A Colour Explosion. Each night had a different flavour, which we wanted to reflect visually. At same time we wanted to be flexible enough to go in whatever direction the music took us."
Manny had 14 Rogue R1 Spots and eight Rogue R1 Washes in his rig. The Rogue fixtures were instrumental in providing the flexibility needed to reflect the changing mood on stage from night to night. "I depended on the Rogues to help me create the unique looks every night for every theme," he said. "With the removable gobos on the R1 Spots, I was able to create a lot of cool scenes with two of my favorite gobos: the 'cone' and the 'sonar.' I used the split colors for a couple of unique looks. I really like the CTO/Cyan split color. Also, the prism is fast on the Rogues. It really helps me do smooth prism effects and wipes."
For control, Manny ran a grandMA2 on a PC. "This is what I always use on tour with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong," he said. "The grandMA2 really allows me to use the rig the way I need to. With Pigeons' extensive live improvisation and a different set list every night, I really need to have every cue ready to punt without hesitation."
The Main Stage rig at Domefest was outfitted with six Rogue R1 Spots on overhead truss and four additional units on the upstage deck, plus four more of the Rogue Spots on road cases. For washing, Manny used eight Rogue R1 Washes, half of them for side washing and half for the downstage. He also used a collection of blinders and beams.
(Jim Evans)
