Mitski rides on Elation Lighting
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Lighting design for the Be the Cowboy tour was by John Foresman, who employed an Elation rig of Platinum HFX moving heads and SixPar 200 colour-changing PAR lights to complement the emotive singer’s lyrically rich songs. Lighting supply was by Pisgah AVL of North Carolina.
Mitski’s songs are played along melodic lines that can vary in tempo, with carefully choreographed movement key part of the show. Foresman describes his design as dynamic with a lot of energy during the high points and still calmness during the quieter points of the set. The design, he says, was focused around the choreography and making Mitski and her movements the centre of the show.
The lighting designer says that colour played an especially important role in the shows. “The colours I used vary based on the mood and feel of each individual song, often changing colours as the songs change in tone. For songs that keep a similar tone throughout, I typically opt to keep the colour palette static. I find that knowing when to change colours, or when to remove colour entirely from the look, is critical to capturing the tone the artist is trying to convey in their music.”
Much of that colour came from SixPar 200 LED PAR lights with six-colour LED chip that gives an expanded palette of colours. The designer used them for side light onto Mitski and the band with additional SixPars positioned downstage on the floor as uplight for Mitski and her choreography. Foresman says he is a fan of using monochromatic/analogous colours together instead of creating looks with many different colours. “Using colours that are similar to each other makes the stage look much bigger and makes the look appear much more cohesive,” he says. “When he does use different colours together, it is rarely more than two although he says it depends on the dynamics and feel of the songs. “If the song is calling for some crazy colour-changing rainbow strobe, then that's what it's going to get!”
For dynamic looks, Foresman turned to the hybrid Platinum HFX that can operate as a spot, beam, or wash light. “Whether they were used with fast-rotating prisms or as unmoving beams in a fixed position, they were key to creating unique looks from song to song,” he says. “For the price, they are super bright, and their prisms look amazing. On numerous occasions on tour, I had house lighting techs mention how great they thought these fixtures looked.”
The Platinum HFX worked from truss towers in an arch-shape, with the designer adding more fixtures on the floor at the base of the towers for Mitski’s final two shows at Summer Stage Central Park. “I used the beam mode the most because it creates the most crisp and focused gobos and prisms, which I use often,” he explains. “However, if I needed the fixture to operate as more of a spot or wash fixture, it was always great to be able to switch to the corresponding mode. I find hybrid fixtures to be a great idea for any production, but I think that they are especially beneficial for acts that may not have huge budgets or be able to afford a bunch of different styles of lights.”
Pisgah AVL provided the lighting fixtures and support for the tour, a reliable vendor that Foresman was pleased to work with. “Working with Pisgah AVL has been amazing,” he says. “Their prices are super competitive, and their service and dedication is second to none. I seriously can't say enough good things about these guys. Shoutout to Dave Champagne and Robert Shaffer! These guys are a huge reason why these productions have been such a success!”
(LSi Online)
