(04/11/2014) Experienced production designer Cosmo Wilson fondly remembers the first time he used GLP impression fixtures: it was on AC/DC's 2008-2009 Black Ice Tour, where he lit the memorable giant train set-piece, an iconic element of the show. I found that the saturation was stellar, he recalls. Prior to that he had been strictly a traditional Par Can LD' critical of the look of the early LED sources and throw distances.
Six years on, and with Foreigner and Styx embarking on a joint headline tour, LED technology has evolved a long way. For Foreigner's UK dates earlier in the year he deployed impression RZ120 Zoom to light the Foreigner' sign. This allowed him to make visual comparisons with his favoured conventional pars on his way to moving up to the impression X4 series GLP's current touring workhorse.
All the impression X4 fixtures used on the recent Foreigner/Styx tour were purchased specifically by vendors Tour Tech East, with whom the LD also worked on the Foreigner/Journey 2012 tour.
In fact Cosmo Wilson has been working with Foreigner since 1979, and started running lights in 1995. He had first familiarised himself with the X4 on a corporate show in Texas where, due to weight restrictions, they were brought in to replace conventional Pars. I decided this would be a good opportunity to use a full LED Par show, he says. I was impressed with the throw of the X4 and mainly the fact that they mimicked Par cans more than any other LED Par I had used. This was a defining moment for me.
It convinced him to specify them for the Foreigner/Styx tour. And when Cosmo called his programmer and associate designer, Steve Richards, for LED recommendations he promptly vindicated the decision by also promoting the X4. Since I had already had some experience using them, Steve's recommendation sold me.
copyrighted by liveProduction.tv The tour budget defined that Cosmo would use 64 of the fixtures (although he had originally specified 92). My whole Par can look is the amount of lights on at any given time, and typically in my rig, the big' look will be half my rig, he explained. With six colours (three hot and three cold) in a 120 Par can show, it was these intensity driven bumps' that he needed to emulate in the LED domain with occasional use of the zooms to create different song looks offset by 18 bars of ACL and 20 4-way audience blinders. But Cosmo is nothing but creative in his approach to rig design.
My typical rig creates a forced perspective, as I attempt to make the rig look much larger than it really is. This also works with an already large rig, making it look impossibly large! This has been one of my signatures as an LD, and it comes in very handy with bands that have limited budgets. His other signature is to mix and juxtapose two colours for each song.
The idea was to allow me to utilise modern technology to give me the look of the old Par can shows, which goes hand in hand with the band's music. Using the impression X4 gave me that big Par rock show look, but used a lot less power, made the daily focus a breeze, and gave the touring lighting crew a much easier rig to assemble.
Steve Richards assisted in the design, plotting and programming of the lighting before handing over the Lighting director reins to Dan Spot' Lastovka for the Foreigner/Styx tour duties, since Cosmo was already committed to the Aerosmith European tour.
Offering complete contrast was the Styx element of the shows a more theatrical contrast with the super-bright, in your face' approach of Foreigner. Says Cosmo. We had specific lights that each band used, and shared around 70% of the rig. We also have two separate looking truss configurations, making each show completely unique.
Despite maintaining the old school' approach to Par can lighting with his other charges, Cosmo Wilson can unquestionably see a future role for its LED counterpart. So has the leap of faith been justified? Yes, I think it has in the sense that this was the right light for the application I was looking for at the time, he admits.
The two best things I liked about the X4 were firstly the throw, and the fact that it mimicked a Par, and secondly the fact that the source wasn't just a bunch of different coloured dots of lights. Give me the attack and decay of an incandescent, and we'll really have a winner!
In a perfect world he says he would love to replace light for light when it comes to the X4. In other words, I would like to have a 500-Par can show, but with 500 pieces of X4. Will the X4 make an appearance on my next tour? I hope so!
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
06/05/2024
OAKVILLE, Ontario As part of Emergency Preparedness Week, Alert Ready, Canadas national public alerting system, will be distributing a test alert to Canadians i...
06/05/2024
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. Horowitz Research has released a new study on the viewing and media habits of U.S. Hispanic/Latine audiences that shows a dramatic decline in...
06/05/2024
RE:Vision Effects Autograph 2024.4 released! 50% Off Through May 9th
Brie Clayton May 6, 2024
0 Comments
New game-changing motion graphics & VFX featu...
06/05/2024
NBC has renewed Night Court for a third season. The courtroom comedy was on the network from 1984 to 1992, and NBC rebooted it in early 2023....
06/05/2024
ABC has revealed its summer schedule. The Bachelorette gets going Monday, July 8, with Jenn Tran the star in season 21. Celebrity Family Feud starts up Tuesday,...
06/05/2024
It's almost go-time for the Holly Springs Salamanders! The season opener is ...
06/05/2024
Tyngsboro, Mass. - May 6, 2024 - Join us at InfoComm 2024 to experience the latest advancements in live production technology. From June 12-14, 2024, at the Las...
06/05/2024
To champion global movements to protect and advance equality for LGBTQ+ communities, Apple is introducing a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, ava...
06/05/2024
Actress Matseliso Mohale has joined Muvhango'Talented actress Matseliso Mohale has joined SABC2's soapie Muvhango' as Vhangani's lover and a c...
06/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Leroy refuses to give up fighting to bury MthethoDon't miss Monday, 6 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke...
06/05/2024
Intrinsic, a software and AI robotics company at Alphabet, has integrated NVIDIA AI and Isaac platform technologies to advance the complex field of autonomous r...
06/05/2024
Cybersecurity experts at the RSA Conference this week will be on the hunt for ways to secure their operations in the era of generative AI.
They'll find man...
06/05/2024
1) What is the rationale of the transaction? What is the benefit for SES shareholders?
This combination creates a stronger and more competitive multi-orbit ope...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
04/05/2024
New faces and new storylines': What to expect on Izingane ZeS'thembu...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
(04/11/2014) Experienced production designer Cosmo Wilson fondly remembers the first time he used GLP impression fixtures: it was on AC/DC's 2008-2009 Black Ice Tour, where he lit the memorable giant train set-piece, an iconic element of the show. I found that the saturation was stellar, he recalls. Prior to that he had been strictly a traditional Par Can LD' critical of the look of the early LED sources and throw distances.
