Chauvet caters for diverse Pot of Gold
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Helping him create a festival rig that could support the different styles of a very varied mix of nine visiting LDs was a collection of Maverick, Rogue and STRIKE fixtures from Chauvet Professional.
“We have been doing the Pot of Gold festival for a number of years,” said Garberson of Creative BackStage. “This year, we decided to go from an old school 120K system to a mostly LED and moving light rig. The move saved on generators, gas, labor and rigging costs. Going beyond these practical things, though, we wanted to have a rig that would open the door for LDs to be very creative.”
Noting that there is “only so much an LD will bring to a festival in a ground package,” Garberson put as much variety as he practically could into his rig. ”We had a little of each type of lighting effect, from beams to spots to washes to strobes to followspots,” he said. “The idea was to design a rig that any LD would be comfortable meshing with his or her existing show.
“This meant having a broad range of fixtures, which of course made cost and compactness priorities for us. The Mavericks and Rogues excelled in this regard. Both delivered a lot of punch for their price and size. The visiting LDs who were not experienced with these fixtures were blown away by their performance.”
The generous proportions of the West Stage (a Stageline SAM 575) also made it easier to create a diverse rig. For added flexibility, Garberson replaced the moving backdrop truss that was used at the festival in previous years with a 30mm x 11.5 6mm LED screen. “The video screen gave designers way more opportunities to create their own looks,” he said.
Garberson positioned his fixtures to expand the flexibility of his rig even further. He flew eight STRIKE 4 multi formatted fixtures and 12 Rogue R2 Washes on downstage truss to create front washing, audience lighting and stage framing opportunities. Taking advantage of the STRIKE’s warm white glow, designers could give their Pot of Gold shows a retro “tungsten look,” while using the fixture as a wash or audience blinder.
“The STRIKE was well suited for what we wanted to do in terms of creating a flexible rig, because it can make a strong statement in so many different ways,” said Garberson. “As for the Rogue, its zoom feature gave the LDs a lot of options to cover different areas at the front of the stage.”
At mid-stage, Garberson flew four Maverick MK2 Spots, eight Rogue R2 Washes, six beams and three strobes to give LDs a variety of options for down lighting. “The gobos and colours from the MK2s gave LDs a lot ways to change the look on stage,” he said.
A similar configuration of six Maverick MK2 Spots, eight Rogue R2 Washes, four beams and four strobes opened a range of creative possibilities for back lighting and stage washing. For aerial effects, Garberson arranged eight Maverick MK2 Spots on the stage deck. The arrangement met with unanimous approval from visiting LDs, who appreciated the flexibility it afforded them.
(Jim Evans)
