Winter Jam, which tours the US South and Midwest through the end of March, features Christian rock, rap, and contemporary music, along with other performances and speakers. 44 Designs worked directly with Family Force 5, providing design and rental gear for their Winter Jam set.
Lighting designer Jeff Lavallee of 44 Designs mounted 12 Cuepix Panels and 12 Snipers in custom set carts on each side of the drum riser to add visual excitement and punch to the band's eclectic mix of music. The custom set carts are stationary during the performance but are on casters should the band decide to change or adjust their position one night.
"We love the Cuepix Panels because they are bright and punchy," says 44 Designs operations manager Clayton Thornton of the full colour matrix blinders. "Pixel-mapping is a big thing for us now and arranging the panels in matrices gives us that low-res, 8-bit look." Powered by advanced Chip On Board (COB) LED technology, each square Cuepix Panel is made up of 5 x 5 30-watt RGB LEDs and because each pixel is individually controllable, they open up for a wide range of creative effects possibilities, including number and letter projection.
Also placed in the set carts, in the voids left by the Cuepix Panels, are powerful Sniper multi-effect light and laser simulators. "The Snipers came in handy with their laser-like effects and small package size," Clayton comments. "When they are off, it is still valid negative space, but then they can quickly fill the space up with their scanning effects. Plus, since they are not lasers, we don't have to worry about audience scanning. A quick position update from the console is all we need."
"The fixtures have been out for two-and-a-half months now and no complaints," Clayton concludes. "The guys at [Elation dealer] Freed Sales have always supported us and if I need support on anything, their knowledge and speed of response are unrivalled."
(Jim Evans)
