Flock of Flares for The Chemical Brothers
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Show designers Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall created an immersive visual experience for the synth duo, where “the visuals become the lead singer”.
"Strobes are an integral part of Chemical Brothers’ shows,” explains Smith. “For the 2018-19 shows we created a wall of them. Using Flares allowed us the flexibility to strobe into the audience, but also to saturate them in light as musically appropriate. Their incredible brightness and colours, plus their multi-use capabilities and reaction time, are what made us choose them."
Lyall adds: “For arena shows the strobe wall comprised a 5 x 11 grid of Flares on custom wire ladders which went up on mid-stage winches at points in the show. With three more rows of 11, plus more on the stage and truss, we used a total of 93 Flares. We love the Flare’s intensity and great saturated colours. They work well for strobing but also as a wash light. Their output really knocks people over.”
Production designer and technical director Toby Dennis says, “The Flares gave us a multi-coloured strobe fixture that also satisfied the level of intensity we required. We used the four-cell mode for different shapes and textures giving us endless visual options to play with. The Solaris Flares are a true multi-purpose fixture, so much more than just another coloured strobe.”
Lite Alternative’s Jon Greaves asserts: “With the high demand for Flares these days, we’re much appreciative of Dry Hire Lighting’s support. They’re the trustworthy, go-to folks to supply what we need, when we need it. A little shy about taking credit, they are nevertheless ‘silent partners’ for many companies like ours – gaining little glory but much appreciation.”
Located in Buckinghamshire, Dry Hire Lighting recently boosted their inventory of Flares to support lighting and production companies in the UK and Europe. “Our inventory is based entirely upon demand,” says Dry Hire director, Rob Merrilees, “and the Flare is definitely highly specified these days. We have over 2,000 intelligent lights in our inventory, all of which are tested and maintained to the highest standards. The Flare is an incredibly bright, in-demand fixture, and fits well in our rental stock.”
(Jim Evans)
