USA - Like the music it celebrates, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio, which just marked its 39th year, has also drawn on its ability to embrace new ideas to remain vibrant and relevant.
The 2024 ceremony provided a good example of this commitment, as a dynamic lighting design by Allen Branton that featured over 250 Chauvet Professional fixtures (supplied by 4Wall Entertainment), worked seamlessly with a Bruce Rodgers production design, and an immersive video design by Bianca Moncada of Darmah, to engage the live and TV audience on a deep level, all while supporting the activities on stage.
Much of the magic that happened inside the Rocket Mortgage Field House on a Saturday evening was made possible by the design team’s ongoing readiness to adapt to new technologies. This was most evident in the event’s impressive video backdrop.
“The lights-blowing-through-screen is an idea we have used on RRHF for several years,” said Branton. “Initially it allowed us to do some rock‘n’roll violence to the video imagery behind the performances. These images were just still photos in the early years. When Darmah came on the scene in 2021, they brought a new translucid video product, along with magnificent, animated imagery.”
“The transition to animated visuals creates an engaging and interactive experience for the audience as well as a layer of depth and movement,” said Moncada. “It allows us to convey emotion, tell a deeper story, and immerse the viewers in a visual experience that evolves alongside the ceremony.”
Just as it has been in the show’s video imagery, change was also evident in the lighting. For example, the rig’s Color Strike M motorised strobe washes brought a level of flexibility that would have been unheard of not long ago, all while paying tribute to a look that’s as old as rock itself.
“The Color Strike M is a very flexible fixture in a setting like this,” said Branton. “One or two pixels gives us a delicate background. But all pixels, when they’re running hot, give us psychological heat in the image. And of course, this fixture’s strobe does what strobes have done since the beginning of rock‘n’roll.”
Also contributing to the engaging quality of the lighting design were 36 Maverick MK3 Washes, 35 Maverick MK3 Profile V2 fixtures, 14 Rogue R1 BeamWashes, and six Colorado 2 Solo Zooms.
“We relied on the MK3 Profiles to handle all of the stage key lighting and back lighting,” said lighting director Felix Peralta. “All of the Mavericks, Rogues and Colorados had the output to stand up to the video backdrop while matching it beautifully in colour.”
Another change of pace in this year’s show was the way light was used to fill dead space to the extreme sides of the stage for the TV camera. In the past, Branton has often used Colordash Accent 3 PARs for this purpose. Although his rig still had 36 units of that fixture, he also used larger down lights for that purpose this year. “This was for more variety,” he explained. “The show spans musical styles from Dionne Warwick to Ozzy Osborne. Some call for beauty and a picturesque, painterly approach, others kinetic violence – and everything in between.”
The wide range of artists honoured at the ceremony was a tribute to the ability of rock to adapt and expand. Among the honourees were Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews Band, Kool & the Gang, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, and A Tribe Called Quest.
