Robe T1s play key role in Amelie the Musical
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Griggs was asked to light the show, directed by Michael Fentiman and based on the five-times Oscar-nominated 2001 French art-house romantic comedy film, Amélie. The lead character has an eccentric upbringing and a vivid imagination which she uses to explores the complexities of love, loneliness, existence and survival in the big city.
The T1 Profiles - used in addition to the touring lighting rigs at each venue on the tour - are being supplied by leading theatrical rental company White Light, investing in their first T1s for this production as they were essential for Griggs’ lighting plot.
They are used as front light and usually positioned on the front-of-circle bar. In most venues, this meant they would be right above and in close proximity to the audience, so silent running was essential.
“I needed a fully-featured moving light, quiet enough to be amongst the audience and imperceptible,” explains Griggs.
Many scenes take place on the Paris Metro, so this required Griggs to create video style projection effects to simulate passing trains, and again the T1 provided a solution with its very fast shuttering.
“The look is achieved using the shuttering in conjunction with the animation wheel The Metro scenes are all about chance encounters and bustling crowds, with the T1’s giving the excellent impression of trains rattling by.”
Apart from the silent operation and the fast shuttering, Griggs likes the T1’s flexibility, multiple other features, smooth dimming as well as the compact size and light weight.
He also appreciates the additive colour mixing which means that the output is higher than in many other LED fixtures when in darker colours. “The RGBAL LED source allows for subtle tones as well as bright vibrant saturates still punching from way out at FOH with throws of over 15 metres. Yet most effects in the show run at 10% intensity, and they still manage to dim beautifully over long fade times,” he confirmed.
Elliot Griggs programmed the lighting on an ETC EOS console at the Watermill and overall has been delighted with using T1 Profiles for the first time.
(Jim Evans)
