Mavericks create big looks for iHeartRadio
- Details
“On hearing that tickets sold out so quickly, we immediately realised that we were going to have to expand the production experience to a much wider audience, as there would be even more seating areas opened for extra ticket sales,” says Patrick Dierson of The Activity, which created the lighting rig for the Capital One sponsored concert, featuring artists like Coldplay, All Time Low, Imagine Dragons, Måneskin, and more.
To accommodate the larger crowd, the design team began angling each of the production elements to create a more rounded look to the overall production at the LA Forum. “We wanted to ensure that every seat in the house received a high visual value for their ticket purchase,” says Dierson. “Ultimately we configured the rig to provide good views to everyone seated within a 270-degree radius of the stage We even opened more seating by compressing the FOH area.”
Dierson and his team called upon an impressive collection of lighting fixtures, video panels and scenic elements to fill the big venue with visuals that would immerse all fans in the performances, whether they were sitting in the audience or watching via livestream.
Playing a key role in this mix was a collection of Chauvet Professional Maverick and COLORado fixtures, which, like the rest of the rig, was supplied by 4Wall Entertainment.
Rigged gear was arranged in multiple rows, starting at 11ft off the stage deck up to heights of 48ft above the floor. This arrangement not only provided the desired wide viewing angles, it also reflected the scale of the star studded concert and filled vertical space.
Layered throughout the truss system and used as the main wash light were 21 Maverick MK3 Wash fixtures. “It’s no exaggeration to say that the Mavericks were our workhorses,” says Dierson. “We really do get a lot of mileage out of those units in a very easily controlled package. Narrow, wide, pixelated effects, the Mavericks do it all and they do it with a lot of punch. I’m thankful to the folks at 4Wall for introducing us to them.”
Also playing a critical role in the lighting design was the COLORado 2 Solo. “We spec’d them en masse,” adds Dierson. “They gave us extra utility units for various tasks. These ended up doing a bunch of work as scenic up light for various extra set pieces, such as our guest DJ booth, as well as a general area work light for the backstage space. The latter of which is critical to a production - and traditionally is unplanned for in many designs.
“One of the things we do once we’re past the artistic process of the design is start to lay in these utility needs,” continues Dierson. “This show moves incredibly fast with a 48-foot turntable that creates set changes in less than 60 seconds. That means that there is a constant state of backstage set change work happening during each performance, and those teams need to see what they’re doing without it distracting from the on-stage performance. The Solo pars have also been our go-to unit for tasks such as these, amongst many other things, thanks to their versatility.”
Dierson praised the close coordination between The Activity, 4Wall and C2W Rigging as an example. “There is an absolutely massive team of people that go into doing these productions, but on this show in particular we especially have to commend our friends over at C2W Rigging: Carsten Weiss and Jack Blacketer,” he said.
