Ollie Jeffery, technical show manager at the Albert Hall explained the production, "We were originally asked by Neil Sedaka production team to provide a three colour wash and a special for the Piano. We developed from a three colour wash to a comprehensive lighting rig using a mixture of generic and moving lights."
They felt that the best light to give good images on the backdrop would be the new Mac 700 Profiles which were supplied to them by White Light. Its variety of gobos and animation wheel was a big advantage to them and they also wanted to see how silent it was.
Jeffery says of the Mac 700s: "We decided to place the Mac 700s on the floor to enable us to create Gobo effects on the white drapes hung as a back drop. The production team had made it clear that the Lighting must not in any way affect the show even though the DVD was important to them. The silent operation of the MAC 700 allowed us to do this effectively and there were no complaints from the artist."
The Mac 700 Profiles fitted in well with a basic set. Jeffery explained: "As we hadn't seen the show this was very much a different look show for each piece and the varied variety of gobos allowed us to do this effectively."
All lights were operated by lighting designer, Richard Thomas on a Jands Vista which is owned by RAH. Thomas commented: "The Mac 700 Profile was exceptionally bright for the compact size, the colour mixing worked really well. For Neil's concert subtle gobo and colour looks were used to light the scenery to great effect."
Other lights used on the night were VL 2000s, L+E Battens and Pulsar Chromabanks all supplied by White Light. The Albert Hall has a standard rig consisting of Clay Paky Stage Zooms and Profile Pluses as well as a varied mixture of conventional lighting, and can provide comprehensive lighting packages for any event at the hall.
(Lee Baldock)
