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P R O J E C T I O N L I G H T S & S TA G I N G N E W S
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Australian X Factor Lit with Jands, ETC, Vari-Lite Gear
The set for The X Factor in Australia
SYDNEY — The X Factor, broadcast on Australia’s Seven Network, featured a lighting design
by Ian Anderson with Vari*Lite, ETC and Jands gear supplied by Chameleon Touring Systems.
“The Vari*Lites are my preferred light for television,” Anderson said of the rig, which included
spots (50 VL3000s, 12 VL2000s) wash fixtures (14 VL3500s, 30 VL2000s, 16 VL3000s and 14
VL500s) and also 26 ETC Source Four Revolution fixtures, ETC Source Four profiles, 40 Chroma-
Q Color Block LED fixtures and Jands HP12 dimmer rack.
“We have replaced five of the standard gobos to allow some different break-up looks and a
couple of old favorites like the cone gobo which we’ve used heaps,” Anderson said. He credited
the Vari*Lites for their optics, zoom range, quickness, colors and bright output.
The VL3500 Washes, he admitted, were “way to bright for television, but the big beam look
is what I was after. I run them at 30 percent most of the time.” The VL3000s, he adds, are for audience
lighting, and Anderson said he used the ETC Revolution fixtures for keylighting. “They’re
reliable, bright, the shuttering works well and they get the job done.”
As for the Chroma-Q Color Blocks LED fixtures, “they’re a good hole-filler,” Anderson said.
“They’re not really lighting anything, but look damn pretty.”
Unusual Rigging Assists with Automotive Displays at Ferrari World Displays in Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI, U.A.E. — Ferrari World
Abu Dhabi, which opened Nov. 4, has
more than 20 rides and attractions under
its 2.2 million square foot roof, shaped
like a profile of a Ferrari GT, and outside,
visitors can take a ride on the world’s fastest
roller coaster, which accelerates to
150 m.p.h. in 4.9 seconds.
For the attraction’s Galleria Ferrari
display area, which offers an interactive
presentation of the company and its
cars from 1947 to the present, Unusual
Rigging & Engineering was tasked with
hanging three different red Ferraris on
oversized platforms as one might mount
a work of art.
A second project for Unusual Rigging
was in the “TechTransfer” area, which details
how Ferrari’s engineering travels
from Grand Prix race cars to sports cars
consumers can buy. Both projects were
completed within a two-week time frame.
For the first project, Unusual Rigging’s
project manager, Leon Ingram, was
well aware of the need for a system that
would allow for careful maneuvering for
the final placement of platforms. He devised
a hoist system that included a run
of square truss and a runner beam carrying
two hoists for each platform, enabling
fine adjustments to be made both laterally
and vertically.
The bare platforms were first offered
to the wall and positioned to enable the
bolt holes to be pre-drilled. They were
then lowered back to the ground, where
the cars were fitted by the Ferrari team.
After being given a final check by the Unusual
Rigging and Engineering crew to
ensure they were secure, the platforms
and cars, which together weighed over
1,100 lbs. each, were hoisted into position
and fixed firmly into place with chemical
bolts.
The “TechTransfer” project involved
moving two vehicles — a Ferrari F430 and
a Fernando Alonso F1 car — out onto the
display podium, where they can be seen
hung vertically from a central post, revolving
in opposite directions.
The project required Unusual Rigging
and Engineering to build a custom frame
to lift and support each of the vehicles,
the heaviest being
the F430, which
weighs more than a
ton. The move was
carried out using a
15-meter high truss
grid, which required
two truss towers on
each of two levels.
The grid was fitted
with I-beams on each
side and another
I-beam on a cross
truss, enabling the
vehicles to be moved
in any direction.
Two of the three Ferraris that Unusual Rigging helped mount on the wall.
The Formula 1 race car in the TechTransfer exhibit.
2010 DECEMBER PLSN
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