"You would have had a hard time recognizing the rotunda if you saw it during filming; the transformation was amazing," said Noah Hammer, owner of Full Circle Lighting & Productions (Atlanta), which supplied the club lighting for the Ice Cube and Kevin Hart comedy. "The colourizing that was done with the Freedom Par Quad-5s was instrumental in creating the scene."
Hammer, who has supplied lighting for numerous movie and TV projects, got involved in Ride Along 2 after receiving a phone call from the film's gaffer. "We're known for the work we've done on film, so when they decided to do this in Atlanta, the gaffer called us," he said. "When the Ride Along 2 team showed us their diagrams and explained what they wanted to do in the rotunda, the Freedom Pars immediately came to mind because of their colour rendering capabilities and their battery-powered operation."
A total of 111 Freedom Par Quad-5 fixtures were rented to the production company for the Georgia capital filming. Most of these fixtures were used to light scenic elements in the Classic Renaissance-style capital building, accenting walls, staircases and the props used to create the bar. However, just before filming began, the production team also began using the fixture in key lighting applications.
"They used the Freedom Par as a lipstick light on Kevin the whole time they were filming in the room," said Hammer. "The gaffer and an assistant held it in front of him. His complexion is very different from Ice Cube's, so they did this to balance them when they were together. There was a bluish tone on the set for the 'ice room' scenes and a yellowish tone for the 'fire room.' Using the Freedom Par as a lipstick light, they were able to keep the lighting on the stars consistent throughout."
In addition to the Freedom Par Quad-5s, Hammer provided the film crew with 24 Chauvet DJ LED Pinspot 2 fixtures. These units were attached to metal columns in the rotunda to complete the glitzy Miami club look.
"The entire production crew was really impressed with how easy it was to use these lights and how much they contributed to transforming the rotunda," said Hammer.
(Jim Evans)
