"It was very nice to be able to illuminate the audience with colour coordination based on the mood of the show," said Todd Roberts, president of Visions Lighting. "As an artist Marco Antonio Solis is very one-on-one with his audience. The Nexus 4x4 panels were extremely helpful in allowing us to highlight different sections of the audience during different songs to reinforce this connection. They really helped key the crowd even more into the concert."
Working with designer and production manager Andy Ruiz of Marbella Inc. Production Services in Irwindale, CA, Roberts positioned the 16 Nexus 4 x 4 panels on U-shaped truss that wraps around the downstage edge. From this position, the Nexus panels worked well as audience lights.
"We were able to incorporate the Nexus panels as house blinders and, at the same time, some amazing eye candy," said Roberts. "Having fixtures that can create this impact and perform multiple roles is essential to helping you stretch your budget on tour."
The Solis tour is filled with stops at large venues like Nassau Coliseum in New York and American Airlines Arena in Miami. In addition to the Nexus panels, the lighting rig features over 60 high output moving fixtures. This might present a challenge for weaker set pieces, but the output of the 16 Nexus panels is bold and intense enough to stand up to the size of the venues and other fixtures in the rig, according to Roberts. "The panel's output cuts through the brightest beams," he said.
Everyone involved in the tour, which has 22 stops in the US alone, has been pleased with the performance and road worthiness of the Nexus panels. "As soon as I showed Andy Ruiz the Nexus and all the cool things you could do with it, there was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to make these fixtures part of the show," said Roberts. "By now everyone is glad he made this choice."
(Jim Evans)
*Pic Marco
