Spectacle of Lights - PLSN.com

NEWS
Lighting Goes Back in Time
ATLANTA, GA — Stage Front Presentation
Systems (SFPS) supplied a Jands Vista
S3 lighting console and 72 Chroma-Q
Plus color changers for the new Medieval
Times Atlanta Dinner & Tournament.
Georgia-based Stage Front has been the
design and build contractor for Medieval
Times since providing the lighting and
special effects for the original Florida
Castle in 1986.
The 1,200-seat arena shows include
equestrian events, tournaments and
games, jousting, hand-to-hand combat
scenes, a Wizard sequence and a lighting
overture in between opening scenes.
LD Marty Huntoon commented: “Being
able to program the lighting to a
timeline for this show was a real breath
of fresh air.”
Huntoon also found the programming
able to import audio. After noticing some
difficulties in other Castles’ running segments
that required co-ordination with the
audio engineer, he knew he could easily
resolve these by simply playing back both
the pre-recorded audio track and lighting
steps from one button on the console.
Following Marty’s recommendation,
Medieval Times purchased a Vista S3 for
the Atlanta show rig, which is connected
to an Apple Intel iMac and provides control
for 154 ETC Source Four PARs, 35 ETC
Source Four ERS fixtures, nine Coemar
iSPOT 575EBs, 16 Coemar Prowashes
250, Reel EFX DF-50 hazers and Le Maitre
G300 Fog.
Marty also specified 72 Chroma-Q
Plus color changers for the Atlanta Castle,
based upon the Chroma-Q units installed
and maintained over the years in previous
Castles by the company.
Since completing the installation,
Stage Front’s Vista S3 has been used for
various concert, corporate and house-of
worship-events in the Southeast.
The cast prepares for battle at Medieval Times.
McEntire
Honored
at Kodak
HOLLYWOOD, CA — Greg Brunton
of Design Partners, Inc. (DPI) designed
the live-to-tape concert tribute CMT
Giants: Reba, which premiered November
18, 2006 on Country Music
Television.
Eleven live performances of Reba
McEntire’s songs were taped in front
of a live audience at The Kodak Theatre
in Hollywood on October 26. Reba’s
songs were performed by female
artists including Martina McBride,
Kelly Clarkson, LeAnn Rimes, Jennifer
Nettles, Wynonna, Faith Hill, Dolly
Parton, Trisha Yearwood and Megan
Mullally.
The more than 250 moving lights
included Vari*lite VL5, VL 2416, VL
3000 and 3500 and VL6C. Versa TUBES
back-lit the bands, and the orchestra
was side-lit by Coemar LED PixelPars.
The Morpheus XR2 wash was used to
side light the beaded curtain and various
swags of fabric.
For the finale, which Reba performed,
Stealth LED Panels from Element
Labs were used to create a video
wall that bled through to highlight
and reveal her entrance. A fan of Five
Syncrolite 10K searchlights appeared
behind her.
Live guest appearances and tributes
included Beau Bridges, Barbara
Mandrell, Andie MacDowell, Dakota
Fanning, James Denton and from Reba’s
successful television series, both
Melissa Peterman and Christopher
Rich.
Tom Forrest, was executive producer;
Jillian Ellis was line producer,
and Mike Swinford acted as
production designer. Brunton, of
DPI, was assisted by Kim Killingsworth,
also of DPI, and Harry Sangmeister
served as lighting director
and programmer.
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PLSN DECEMBER 2006