"What's unique about this show is that you're dealing with 20 performing artists in 20 days," notes LD Systems' John Dickson, who handled all the overhead stage lighting. "And that means 20 different lighting designers. They don't run the board; they give you ideas to translate. The challenge is coming up with different looks using exactly the same rig every night.
The grandMA is really fluid, and its timecode is totally cool. Two shows were done to timecode: the National Anthem and a multimedia presentation honouring the volunteers and featuring a brief history of the rodeo. The grandMAs took the timecode feed better than any other system I've used."
The main rig, programmed by Dickson, featured 24 x Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots, 24 x HES Studio Command1200 Washes, 20 x Coemar Parlite LEDs, 5 x HES Studio Color 575s, and4 x HES Studio Spot 575s. The grandMAs and lighting equipment were supplied by LD Systems.
Matt Mills, who controlled the perimeter rig for audience lighting, says the show "went great" with the grandMA. Using the console's Group Masters "made it very easy to control the intensities on the fly," he reports.
(Jim Evans)
