Chauvet creates skyline for Grammy video
- Details
Like the awards show itself, the melodic tune, which features country star Maren Morris, EDM producer Zedd and the dance pop duo Grey, illustrates the power of music to pull together a diverse mix of cultural influences. Supporting this musical melding was a captivating video that featured a stunning skyline background of varying geometric light configurations, created by Volt Lites using 325 ChauvetProfessional Nexus 4x4 panels.
Arranged in different heights across the set, which represented the roof of an urban high rise, the Nexus panels flashed on and off in a variety of patterns to evoke powerful images of a city skyline. This setting lent an edge to Morris’ haunting vocals and provided an intense backdrop to the video’s intricate choreography.
“The idea was to create an environment that could support the dynamics of the song in a larger-than-life set,” explained Volt Lites designer and co-founder Matt Shimamoto. “Each element needed to have a moment that could consume the shot at a very specific time throughout the song.
“We went through many different versions of what could be in each of the ‘buildings’ in the background. We selected the Nexus panel 4x4 based on a few principles. We needed something that could be punchy enough to blast through the building windows, yet soft enough to be forgiving when the diffusion was placed inches in front of each light.”
Shimamoto and the Volt Lites team placed the Nexus panels inside the cubic structures that acted as buildings. The high output panels were run at 2%-30% capacity and were controlled via the console. Even at this level, the panels had no difficulty standing up to the output of the moving profiles and spotlights in the video rig.
(Jim Evans)
