Behind the scenes, lighting designer Oscar Dominguez and his lighting crew have accomplished all this winning the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for Variety Series using a rig that relies heavily on VL3015LT Spot, VL3515 Spot, VLX Wash, VL3500 Wash, VL3000 Spot and VL550 Wash luminaires all supplied by Illumination Dynamics.
"For me, the Vari-Lite luminaires are the backbone to this lighting rig," began Dominguez. "When you put them in your rig, you know exactly what they are going to do and that they are going to be reliable. If for some reason we were to lose all the other lighting instruments, we would be ok because Vari-Lite luminaires are quality. In a primetime network 2-hour live show, this is extremely important. I need products that I have faith in and that's Vari-Lite luminaires."
Previously nominated for his work on the fourth season of The Voice as well as his design for The Tyra Banks Show, this was the first Emmy win for Dominguez. Having been with The Voice since its inaugural season, no two lighting plots have ever been the same, but there have always been two constants; the use of Illumination Dynamics as the authorised dealer and the reliance upon Vari-Lite luminaires.
Dominguez explains, "From day one, I have been working with Mark Rudge at Illumination Dynamics and I wouldn't step onto any project without him next to me. His knowledge and support are second to none and the gear he supplies is always operating at peak performance. While the lighting instruments have changed over the seasons on 'The Voice', the backbone of each rig has always been Vari-Lite luminaires."
At The Voice there are three rounds of competition; the blind auditions, the battle rounds, the knockouts, and then the live performances. Since the lighting package does not stay the same during each of the rounds, it is up to Dominguez to reconfigure the plot to best match the needs of each new set-up. For this to work, the lighting instruments have to be both reliable and have multiple feature characteristics which is why Dominguez specified 44 VL3015LT Spot, 12 VL3515 Spot, 48 VLX Wash, 22 VL3500 Wash, 62 VL3000 Spot and 155 VL550 Wash luminaires for his Emmy-winning design.
"The VL3015LT Spot is quite frankly my new favourite light. I have them all throughout the rig and can place them anywhere because the zoom is phenomenal, the output is amazing, and I can do nice, big-beamed, zoomed-out looks with full color. When I first saw it during a demo at Illumination Dynamics, I was speechless. I love how it is big on feature set with the ability to provide a powerful beam with a broad zoom, and rich color, with a gobo effect. No other light can do all this and it's simply a remarkable lighting tool."
Dominguez concluded, "When designing my rig each season I try to think of it in an esoteric way thinking of the lighting instruments as tools. With all the lights being unique and each having its own distinct look, the one thing I need them all to be is reliable, especially in the live rounds which is paramount. I also need all the lighting tools to have a good quality of light. While we may populate the rig with small LED products to give it an extra 'sizzle' when needed, the main structure of the rig is supported almost entirely by our automated lighting package and these lights have to be able to produce a beautiful quality of light which I find best in Vari-Lite luminaires."
(Jim Evans)
