Steve Bewley creates perfect Stormzy with Ayrton
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Lighting designer Steve Bewley opted for an Ayrton-laden specification for each incarnation of Stormzy’s show, which visited various academy venues this year before concluding with two Brixton Academy gigs.
“There were 38 MagicPanel-R units and 10 MagicBurst on my list. The UK and Ireland shows were all of a decent size, Brixton Academy has a capacity of nearly 5,000 and then we had various festival variations and a special rig for Glastonbury. Altogether, there were six different designs but the Ayrton fixture choices were always central to the show. Their dynamic look is not something that can be replicated and they were versatile enough to adapt to all the different venues and configurations.
“For the academy shows, we stripped out the house rigs to make it entirely Stormzy’s show in each venue. Our rig was composed of straight truss with the MagicPanel-R fixtures deployed in uniform lines across the mid and back trusses to give a great linear effect, and again across the floor. When we reached Brixton for the two showcase nights that were filmed, it was important that the rig delivered for camera as well as the audience.
“We pulled out all the stops then, increasing the number of MagicPanel-R units and loading them onto six moving trusses arranged in a horseshoe shape and split into three sections downstage and upstage; two further satellite trusses moved up and down behind that and more filled in across the front of the stage and downstage left and right at floor level.
Bewley also added 10n MagicBurst fixtures to an upstage moving truss. “Although I hadn’t included the MagicBurst in a design before, Ayrton’s UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions had shown them to me at a Tiny Tempah rehearsal and I was impressed. It was definitely what I had been looking for for a number of applications, and Stormzy’s gig at Brixton gave me the first opportunity to try them out. They didn’t disappoint: they are bright – very bright!”
The start of the show began with almost nothing on stage, into which Bewley added huge stabs of white light from above, while keeping the source of the light concealed from the audience. “We were able to inject massive bursts of white light from behind the screens and other architecture, then when the MagicBursts did come into view, we could adjust the appearance of the fascia using the onboard macros, create effects and use them as a strobe, while all the time moving them around to create different angles and shadows.”
Bewley concludes, “My techs are happy; I’m happy and loved the different applications for both the MagicBurst and the MagicPanel-R.”
(Jim Evans)
