Due to a smaller production budget for the band's first visit to South America, and the logistics of shipping the band's tour rig between venues in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Malta, the production team decided to source the lighting rig equipment locally in each region. However, owing to the very cue-intensive nature of the two-and-a-half-hour shows, White knew that it would be impossible to build new shows from scratch on the existing tour console if fixture types varied across the four rigs. Whilst visiting A.C. Lighting, Phil was shown a demo of the Jands Vista lighting console and realized straight away that its generic fixture model was the perfect solution to his needs for this leg of the tour.
On most consoles, changing a fixture type requires re-programming of the whole show to match the replacement light - a job that can take hours. However, the Vista records the actual colours, beam angles and other key attributes, so that when a fixture is changed, the console compares the abilities of the lights and works out how to adapt - even if the new light doesn't have the same attribute.
White hired a T4 console from Mark Powell at Bandit Lites Ltd, who had recently decided to add the console to the company's rental inventory in light of growing demand. He commented: "The biggest thing for the shows was that the Vista gave us the extra time - when we needed to update fixtures that day, the option was there. On one day I would have one type of light for the show, such as Vari-Lite VL2402 washes for the circle, then another day I'd need to swap some of these fixtures out for Martin Mac 600s. Without the Vista's generic fixture model it wouldn't have been possible to take such a complex show on the road using different rigs.
White added: "I was also impressed by the backup that was there for the console from A.C. I knew that if there were any problems, they would be there at the end of the phone to listen and find a solution - this, however, wasn't needed as the desk performed without any problems at all."
(Lee Baldock)
