(08/05/2015) Highly popular, talented, chart-topping singer / songwriter, actress - and most definitely rising star - Ariana Grande is storming the US on her current My Everything tour. Complete with a spectacular lighting design by Chris Kuroda, the tour includes 76 x Robe BMFL Spots and 78 x Pointes as the main moving lights.
The tour's stage / scenic concept was a triumvirate creative process evolved by Chris Kuroda, Production Manager Chris Gratton and Stage Designer Nick Demoura. Grande, on her first full production tour, was integrally involved with the process.
Chris Kuroda's starting point for the lighting was a 60 foot wide LED video wall, center stage that parts in the middle for entrances and exits. With this massive lightsource already dominating the visual horizon, he needed exceptionally bright lighting sources.
There was only one fixture that met the criteria Robe's BMFL Spot.
Chris has used Robe products in his work over the years, and when the BMFL was launched, he knew it was absolutely the right light for this project .
He's been enthusiastically specifying Pointes for the last couple of years and loves their versatility, so these were also on the plot bringing a multitude of imaginative options to the table.
The BMFL Spots and Pointes are dotted all over the rig, positioned on a series of diamond-shaped pods over the stage and audience, and on various trusses.
It's his first design with BMFLs. He decided to go with them after receiving a demo from Robe Lighting Inc. soon after the fixture was launched.
The BMFLs are used to produce lots of aerial graphics together with zoom effects and prism looks, their sheer brightness making them stand out. They work extremely hard throughout the set says Chris, adding we're delighted they are our elegant' lights .
He loves the tight focus on the gobos and the subtlety of the slow sweeps due to the ultra-smooth movement.
Twenty-four of the Pointes are deployed on two side trusses flown two feet off the stage either side in the traditional shin buster' position, while the rest are dotted around in the pods. The near circular shape of the pods means the Pointes' twisty movements and looks can be maximized.
Frost in/out chases are one of Chris's particular favorites, and the fuzzy / sharp juxtapositions work a treat in giving more idiosyncratic looks. The Pointe was Robe's first game-changer', he comments. He initially used them in 2014 when lighting Nicki Minaj at the iHeartRadio music festival in Las Vegas and fell in love!
Ahead of the Ariana Grande tour, Chris and long-time programmer and associate Andrew Giffin rented space in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where Chris is based, and completed 3 weeks of pre-visualization. They had a Pointe and a BMFL in the space with them as they started programming the grandMA2 console.
Chris, Andrew and Chriss Lighting Director on the road for Ariana, Nick Van Nostrand, had all worked together previously on Justin Biebers last Believe tour.
This process was followed by two weeks of production rehearsals at Long Beach Arena in southern California.
The show's aesthetic is a megamix of pop and theatre. Grande renowned for her incredibly wide vocal range and dynamic stage presence spent much of her early career in the theatre and wanted the show to be fully focused around the music'. Her interest and ideas added greatly to the presentation says Chris, and she was also guided by the experience, knowledge and imagination of her top notch production team.
In addition to some classic pop and theatrical techniques, Chris brought plenty of contemporary and retro twists to the lighting. The show encompasses music from multiple genres and eras - from hippie psychedelica to full on rock-out, groove-tastic dance to R&B. There's even a 3-piece string section at one stage. It's an eclectic, action-packed, entertaining live mix that needed flexible lighting options.
Chris, in conjunction with Production Manager Chris Gratton, also chose the pyro and lasers, and video was designed by Nick Millitello.
The lighting contractor is VER.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
(08/05/2015) Highly popular, talented, chart-topping singer / songwriter, actress - and most definitely rising star - Ariana Grande is storming the US on her current My Everything tour. Complete with a spectacular lighting design by Chris Kuroda, the tour includes 76 x Robe BMFL Spots and 78 x Pointes as the main moving lights.
