Normandale worked closely with the band's long time creative director Anton Corbijn on developing appropriate lighting and a clean look and feel for the show to compliment Corbijn's set and stage concept.
In keeping with the desire to keep the stage space looking sparse and uncluttered, a substantial part of the lighting rig is concealed behind a MiTrix video wall at the back - including the 24 BB4s. These, together with 24 MAC 2K Wash moving lights are mounted on custom built frames, presenting a powerful barrage of lights that can blast through the semi-transparent MiTrix screens at appropriate moments.
When Normandale and touring lighting director Graham Feast programmed the show, they did so with the BB4's switched to their most comprehensive mode - enabling each individual pixel to be controlled and programmed as a separate lightsource. This has allowed them to create some intricate and random chases and movements.
The Satellites - 12 in total - are positioned around the risers illuminating each band member from close up. They were chosen for being small and discreet - in keeping with the clean stage look - and their wide colour range which includes high quality 'real' pastels and other more unusual hues normally unobtainable with an LED fixture.
Normandale is also using i-Pix BB4s on Coldplay's current world tour. Blackburn-based rental company Lite Alternative is lighting equipment suppliers for the European legs of the Depeche Mode tour, with the US legs being serviced by Chicago-based Upstaging.
(Jim Evans)
