Claypaky Xtylos makes US debut in Dallas
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Creative directors and designers Lewis James and Travis Brothers tapped 178 Xtylos fixtures for the event. The fixtures were utilised in conjunction with Production Resource Group (PRG), which was the lighting vendor for the production.
The show also utilised 52 Claypaky Mythos 2 and 24 Claypaky Scenius Unico fixtures for the extensive lighting rig in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
Post Malone hosted and headlined the festival whose guest line up included Meek Mill, Pharrell Williams and Jaden Smith. Malone is currently on a North America arena tour in support of his latest album, Hollywood’s Bleeding, his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. The show was designed with a massive square stage with catwalk and large LED screen backdrop.
“I saw Xtylos on a trip to Italy and knew they would be perfect for their concepts, so I pitched the idea to the Posty team,” says Nick Whitehouse, creative producer with Fireplay.
James notes that the design focuses around large central cube and a “concept of crowd pods that cast columns of light directly down into the audience” - a motif he designed for Posts World Tour.
It was important to translate this motif to the stadium. The design had strategically placed aerial foggers to emphasise the texture and volume of the fixtures James adds that “the Xtylos’ strength was perfect for interpreting the bold looks we needed.”
“We always love the idea of riot and atmosphere out in the crowd, somehow capturing that energy from the artist and dispersing it to “totem” columns that people can feel connected by.”
It was really a large collaborative process when it came to light. Whitehouse and James collaborated on the core elements of the design - positioning them in brutal formations to help create structure and architecture to the stadium space. “I felt they were the right choice for such a large scale production, the solid and endless beams provide us with a lot of range and scope when it comes to composing the light of the performance.
“With the help of lighting designer Ben Dalgleish we terminated them at a range of unorthodox positions in the stadium which gave us some really interesting looks that I haven’t seen before. Ben did a great job of translating the ideas and sketches to something functional we could use within the show,” adds James.
“We were very proud to be part of this production. This is a seminal moment in automated lighting - the first use of a revolutionary new product in North America. After so much hard work by so many folks at Osram and Claypaky, it was thrilling to see the results and to watch the designers and programmers first experience and then embrace the product. The feeling of being part of the start of something newly exceptional in our industry was truly exciting for all of us,” concludes George Masek, Claypaky strategic marketing manager.
(Jim Evans)
