Squeek redesigns Ruby Stage with Elation
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“The stage had been up for a while and had served our clients well, but we wanted to mix it up with a new design,” stated Victor Zeiser, founder and managing partner at Squeek Lights. “We were able to come up with a more compact floor package and move the drape back which gives us more stage depth for a wider shot and better camera angles. It’s a sleeker design which makes the space bigger and works really well for the camera.”
Dartz and Picasso fixtures are again key elements of the design, this time arrayed in lines that deliver more of an impact and make the rig look bigger. For inspiration, Zeiser refers back to a November August Burns Red livestream that Squeek Lights provided fixtures for. "After I saw what the Dartz looked like on that show, all in a big line, I thought we have to go double in the shop.”
Consequently, a big focus of the redesign is a line of a dozen Dartz overhung off the truss with a matching line of fixtures across the floor for a total of 24. “Having a clean line of a dozen Dartz uninterrupted in the truss is a great look and they are small enough we could get 12 of them on a 24-ft wide span. They put out a beautiful beam of light that cuts all the way through the shot.”
The Artiste Picasso LED moving heads function as the main spots with eight in the upstage truss and five in a mid-stage position, including one fixture positioned dead center. “So many of the music videos we do have a solo artist and a centrepiece for me was placing one Picasso as a dead centre backlight. The difference between having the clean look of a bright beam of light versus two fixtures splitting the centre is better in my opinion.”
Zeiser reflects on a music video they recently shot in the space where they used the ring gobo in the Picasso together with the prism to fill out the camera shots. “The big front lens of the Picasso looks even bigger when you throw that prism in. It was such a great visual effect out of the front of the fixture that just filled up the whole space with light.”
Ruby Stage also includes 16 ADJ 32 Hex Panels from Elation’s sister-company used for eye candy and pixel-mapped looks, as well as blinders or side light.
Ruby Stage is used for full live PPV concerts, taped musical performances and music video shoots and bands often bring in their own LD, which Zeiser says he loves as it gives him the chance to see how others use the rig. Lighting control options include a compact NX2 controller from Obsidian Control Systems or a hefty larger console.
Bands such as Motionless in White, The Wonder Years, June Divided and ManDancing have used the space, as well as the band AJR for a Biden Presidential Inauguration performance and a performance for a late-night TV show. “It's a great way for bands to reconnect with their fans and gives clients a full setup show very cost effectively. For us, it’s a way to keep our skills sharp and cover some of the bills.”
