Angstadt of Round Peg Productions would have liked to have used haze to create more dramatic beam looks at Mistletoe Meltdown, a hugely popular December festival, which in 2015 featured Robin Thicke, OMI, Rachel Platten and The Vamps. Nevertheless, Angstadt overcame this obstacle with the help of 13 pixel mapped Next NXT-1 moving RGBW LED panels from Chauvet Professional, provided by Showtime Sound of Frederick, MD.
"Since there was no haze permitted in the venue, I had to come up with another way to create the club-like look I wanted on stage," said Angstadt. "The sharp beams of the NXT-1s gave me the intense, dynamic lightshow that this festival called for, without requiring the use of haze."
Angstadt positioned five of the Next NXT-1 panels on upstage truss. The remaining eight fixtures were positioned two apiece on four 10-foot truss towers, which were also located upstage. Together, the collection of moving panels, each of which contains 25 high-output pixel mappable RGBW LEDs, created an impressive light field behind the performers on stage.
"We placed the Next NXT-1s upstage for eye candy that engaged the audience," said Angstadt. "We also used them for pixel mapped displays that tied the stage together. By positioning the Next NXT-1 fixtures at different heights on truss and truss towers we were able to create layers of light on stage and open up more options for our pixel mapped effects."
Angstadt, production manager Shawn Hocherl of Showtime Sound and light tech Dan Hoffman were intent on creating a rig that was versatile enough to reflect the diverse styles of Mistletoe Meltdown's four featured acts. Thicke's soulful R&B sound is a world apart from the sprightly pop of The Vamps, and each of them is very different from OMI's reggae style and the inspirational songs of Rachel Platten. However, by pixel mapping the moving LED panels, the LD was able to provide a unique and supportive light show for each group.
"The pixel mapping, brightness and pure speed of the Next NXT-1 panels really carried the show for us," said Angstadt. "With the design for this festival, I wanted to give the touring designers who accompanied some of the acts lots of options to add special looks to their shows that reflected the style of their specific client. Having the NXTs, I was able to offer them a dynamic fixture that they could use to create visual effects that looked great even without atmospherics like haze."
(Jim Evans)
