Vasco's fans expect maximum visual impact from his shows and this was no exception: Grandi Schermi (Large Screens), a business unit of Euphon Communication, was responsible for the supply, installation and technical assistance for The three Lighthouse Technologies LED screens used on the impressive set designed by Giò Forma, and Rome's Limelite supplied a light rig designed by Giovanni Pinna.
Vasco and his hard-hitting nine-piece band had a 180ft (w), 60ft (d) stage at their disposal and on the set the first thing that hit the eye upon entering the venue was a towering six-tonne metal "spider" flown from the back wall. Giò Forma designer Claudio Santucci explained that the use of the monstrous, spider-like robot was intended to illustrate the lyrics in Vasco's album - to avoid judging people by their appearance and try to understand their true essence.
Said Santucci, "We took the project through from start to finish with Clear Channel - from load calculations to integrating audio, video and lighting in the design, so we had to interact with all the contractors involved in the project. Giancarlo Canfora of Limelite did a wonderful job of handling the challenge of using such a large set-up without a roof grid. We had the choice of two brands of screens and opted for Lighthouse, which we'd already used in the past. We suggested the use of three screens, decided to try out an elongated format and also designed the majority of the graphics projected."
The main centre screen consisted of 5x9 panels of Lighthouse 16mm LED screen, with a total size of 5.08 x 6.84m, used to screen live shots and graphics, with an LIP (Lighthouse Interface Processor) SX M4 controlling brightness, contrast, gamma, colour balance and gamut. The two identical side screens also had a "column" format, with 3x7 panels of Lighthouse 20mm LED screen, measured 3.84 x 6.72m, were controlled by an LIP SX M2 and used only with the live video feed from Swan Film Europe and a seven-camera, six-man team from Twenty Studio.
Grandi Schermi's Franco Santoro worked on screen planning with Clear Channel and was there at the start-up and on some selected dates. Head technician Christian Zaglio led the eight-strong screen team.
Santucci interfaced closely with LD Pinna, who decided to use 144 Thomas Pixelline 1044 battens on the back wall, after seeing them at the Rimini's SIB expo in the spring. The rig also included sixty Vari*Lite VL5, 160 Coemar moving head fixtures, four Spacecannon 7kW motorized searchlights, 35 Martin Atomic 3kW strobes and seven followspots. Control was courtesy of two Ethernet-linked Grand Ma lighting consoles, plus a Console + PC for Catalyst control, manned by Bob Grassi.
Although admitting the show was a big commitment for all concerned, Pinna enthused: "The use of three screens, particularly the centre one, has obviously influenced my work, and this was one of the reasons I decided to integrate it into the plot and use a Catalyst on it, through which we fed some of the live footage as well as the graphics."
"Buoni e Cattivi" was a "zero impact" tour, as the artist decided to compensate for the carbon dioxide emission on the 15-dates by having over 124,000 sqm of trees protected on his behalf by the LifeGate organization in Costa Rica's Karen Morgensen reserve.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
