Lighting, video and audio service provider is Professional Event Solutions (PES), a full service rental house based in Bünde, the same German town that the Ehrlich Brothers call home. "Our close relationship means we are more than just a dry hire company for the Ehrlich Brothers," says PES managing partner Carsten Müller.
"We've worked with them in the past as technical partners and are involved in many other aspects of the show as well. A magic show of this caliber requires an abundance of supporting props and material. The Ehrlich Brothers bring their illusions and the technical elements needed to perform them, as well as some decorative lighting, and we provide the rest and that includes the Elation Platinum Series moving heads."
Because the technical aspects of the illusions are quite big and heavy, the audio, video and lighting gear needed to be easy to use and set up, as well as effectively bright. In the early planning stages of the tour, the Ehrlich Brothers worked with lighting design firm MO2 Design, headed by renowned LD Ollie Olma, about an easy-to-handle yet efficient lighting set up. MO2 suggested using lamps from 700 to 1200 watts but PES came with other suggestions, namely the 189 watt Platinum Beam 5R Pro and the 300 watt Platinum Spot 15R Pro.
"We had used the Platinum Beam 5R Pros on the Ehrlich Brothers' first tour in 2012/2013 and were therefore familiar with them," said Carsten Müller, managing partner at Professional Event Solutions. "We then talked to Elation Europe about the Platinum Spot 15R Pro as well. We ended up suggesting both these fixtures for the tour because we know they can compete with 700-1200 watt fixtures as far as brightness plus the power savings is substantial."
The Platinum Beam 5R Pro features a sharp and narrow 2.5° beam with eight dichroic colors and eight gobo patterns while the Platinum Spot 15R Pro is a CMY color mixing unit with 22 gobos and a 9° to 27° variable zoom. Professional Event Solutions presented the fixtures to MO2, as well as to lighting engineer and tour programmer/operator Daniel Gründler, who expressed satisfaction with the speed and output of the fixtures.
"Brightness and speed were the main decision points to go with the Platinum fixtures but ease of use was also important," Carsten explains. "Each venue on the tour is different and the lighting fixtures need to be repositioned at each, but Daniel has very limited time for that. The Platinum moving heads are easy to handle, making set up a much easier process. And with trim heights of up to 9 meters, there is no problem getting efficient bright beams out of them." Sixteen Platinum Spot 15R Pros work from above the set with 8 positioned on the floor and 8 Platinum Beam 5R Pros mounted in the scenery.
The Ehrlich Brothers tour is an ambitious outing with 90 shows on the schedule and often two shows per day. "The Platinum fixtures work about 14 hours a day and have been very reliable," Carsten says. The fixtures are used for show and effects lighting, to set the mood and create excitement.
Lighting can focus attention on what people should see or misdirect to what they shouldn't. Good illusions take a lot of preparation and everything has to work closely together, therefore the lighting is time-coded to work with the audio and video. A missed lighting cue can spell disaster lest the brothers reveal how they ride a Harley Davidson out of a giant iPad or bend rails of iron with their own hands!
(Jim Evans)
