For this tour he was one of the first to try TITAN V4, the latest software due for official release in the new year. Having now used the TITAN D4 on over 60 shows, it's proved to be "Very reliable," he states.
Lighting equipment for the UK tour was supplied by High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire based rental company Siyan.
The tour's lighting design was based around three large and striking backdrops - a central cloth and two legs - featuring artwork from all the band's record sleeves since 1980. The general vibe on stage was that of a big celebratory party atmosphere with lots of energy, colour and big bold lighting looks; together with a few moody dramatic moments for contrast and reflection. "It was a show with massive dynamics," says Nyholm.
There was a basic flown front and back truss with 14 x SGM Giotto 400 Spots, nine Giotto 400 Washes, eight GLP Impression LED wash lights, four Martin Professional Atomic strobes plus 2- and 4-light Moles. On the floor were six bars of ACLs, assorted PARs and Moles, and the back cloth and legs were illuminated with 12 SGM Palco LED washes. All of which was controlled via the D4 TITAN.
Nyholm revealed how he loves the faders on the console, and the fact that everything is right there and instantly accessible at your fingertips, without having to trawl through numerous sub-menus. Being able to assign timings to all the fixture attributes is "Great" he says, and creating elements like fanning effects is extremely quick and simple on the D4 TITAN.
Fixture Exchange also came into its own, specifically during the German leg of the festival section of tour, and when they went into smaller clubs and venues and were hooking into the house rigs.
Another feature he utilises extensively is the D4 offline editor, which runs on his PC at home using a Capture visualiser. He did all the pre-programming for the Level 42 tour on this as there were no production rehearsals. So when he arrived, all he had to do was update his preset focuses and he was ready to rock!
(Lee Baldock)
