"I started working with Miranda in 2005 and the show has definitely grown over all the previous tours which has allowed me to have a great toy box with more lighting tools at my disposal," began Lisle. "Creatively my main goal is to always compliment her performance with the visuals and she is a very active performer who likes to go out there and have a lot of fun. For 'Locked and Reloaded' I had to design a rig that could keep up with her, that she can have fun with, that would have movement to it, and a rig that could go big. That's why I chose the VL3000 Spot luminaires."
During the nine months of the production design, Lisle encountered a few new twists and turns. The new set was comprised of a 60ft x 40ft stage with a custom-made plexiglas guitar thrust out in front of the main stage. While overall it would be a mostly front light rig with curved truss, they also created three sets of "chandeliers". The "chandeliers" were constructed of 10ft circle truss inside 15ft circle truss with a mirror ball in the middle of both, and they would hang across the upstage area flying in at different times and at varying heights. Arch truss was then hung downstage to frame the new video screen and create depth in the design. So when looking at which lighting instruments to place into the design to help him overcome the new challenges, Lisle knew that power would be the key.
"The main characteristic I needed from the lighting was punch," Lisle explained. "I had to find instruments that could punch through at 35 feet because we have a lot of video and being able to cut through that with light is very important to me. I knew I wanted spot fixtures both above and behind the band and then I also knew that I wanted to incorporate some sort of distinct beam light that could give us great aerial visuals. Our long-time vendor for Miranda is Bandit Lites so we looked at their fixtures that could meet my needs and we decided upon 45 VL3000 Spot luminaires."
"I am very proud to be associated with the Miranda Lambert organization," added Mike Golden, Bandit Lites vice president. "I have known Chris and production manager Todd Ortmeier for over 20 years, and I am very much honored to work with these great people. The design, planning and operation of that tour are beyond stunning. My hat's off to the entire team."
(Jim Evans)
