To our great delight the Wrecking Ball tour hit Paris Bercy for two days, allowing us to (re)discover a true American rock concert, traditional style, with a setup in which the audience surrounds the stage area and the singer for a total communion, which was an obvious pleasure to watch.
But since the sixty-year old rock star never ceases to reinvent himself and above all aims to satisfy his fans, the light show, once again created by Jeff Ravitz and the teams from Morpheus, in turn manufacturer, supplier and provider of technical support for the installation, had quite a few surprises in store for his fans from the get-go as well as for our eyes, which were focused on even the smallest projector rigged in the Paris venue.
For example the lighting design, always true to its warm whites and variations in intensity, innovates this year with the integration of Ayrton and Zap Technology LED moving heads, Clay Paky beams and even fog!
A brilliant production for 2012, which, whilst always focusing on the music and its performers, indulged in a few technological «infringements», whilst preserving its must-haves: colour temperatures at 3200K, “televisual” shading of the light ambiences, projectors assembled by Morpheus and spotlights galore.
We were therefore filled with wonder to meet the lighting team in situ, from operators to lighting director, not to mention the technicians. And to conclude, the icing on the cake, the American lighting designer Jeff Ravitz, who has earned numerous awards in entertainment and to whom Bruce Springsteen has been loyal for nearly 30 years, spoke to us about his choices that are always in agreement with those of the performer.
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TODD AND HIS LIGHTING KIT
By introducing a large number of innovations this year, the large rig gives the wash projectors the priority by entrusting the major task of the show’s ambiences and colours to the WildSun 500 C, associated with other innovative LED sources such as the L2D2 LED head from Zap Technology, or the Philips bars and converters, which reduce the power consumption of an installation with numerous discharge lamps that use a lot of energy.
SLU : Todd, what is your job here?
Todd Ricci : I am the lighting director and field designer. Each time we need to create a new design for specific songs, I step in. We adapt Jeff Ravitz’s concept as the days go by, in accordance with Bruce Springsteen’s wishes.
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SLU : Can you describe the kit you use in this concert?
Todd : Todd: We use a lot of Vari*Lites. But we also have Wildsun 500 C, which is a brand-new product. L2D2, an LED projector on a one-arm yoke by Zap Technology, with an interesting zoom system. It is one of the products that surprised us the most with the Wildsun 500 for what it brought to the show: beautiful blues and truly saturated colours.
Then, for spot effects and gobo projection we have the VL 3000, which illuminates the stage and the audience. For gobo effects and the bearings on the main stage, we have the VL 2000, which also illuminates the audience, and we have individual positions on the members of the band with the VL 2500. The foreground is taken care of by VL 1100 halogens with which we are very satisfied. In fact all of the Vari*Lite equipment has worked rather well this year. Under the stage, we have more Sharpys, under the stair riser and in front of the amplifiers, allowing us to achieve various views from different sources in several locations. On this tour, we have replaced the audience blinders with customised Par LED Morpheus, called CP7 using 7 Chauvet COLORado RGB petal-shaped assemblies to illuminate the audience. We have made a lot of major changes for this tour, compared to the three previous ones.
SLU : The presence of LED projectors is important, does this technology appeal to you?
Todd : Yes, we have wide rows of LEDs. We considered everything that technology had to offer for this tour! We have many stage components marked out by LED products such as the ColorBlaze. We also use ColorBursts, just to provide a number of silver effects and lastly, we have the ColorBlast. You could say that we have quite a few Philips products on the show!
We have also introduced Mac Aura into the kit, just to add visual content that we were unable to achieve with bigger projectors.
TOP-QUALITY NEWCOMERS
With no fewer than 50 yokes, Wildsun 500 C are rigged above the Bercy stage (the kit allows for 20 more in stadiums!). Ayrton washes with efficient colour mix, which is possible thanks to their RGBW multichip and the ideal opening (45° max.), covering more than 95% of the concert’s moods.
SLU : Why did you opt for the Wildsun 500 C?
Todd : The particular aim with these Wildsun was to use their white, which could be a little warmer than that of most LED products, we have therefore defined a white that is more halogen-like. So, among all of the other whites in the show, it is difficult to distinguish the LED source. It is a processed white in order to look warmer, as all our key projectors are 3200K. We love the golds and the colours of the old CMY gels on the Morpheus Color Faders, since they are still the best colour mixing system today, but these have been removed from the kit. Obviously it is impossible to achieve this impression of golden yellow with an LED, which is what represented a major challenge. We managed to come as close as possible with the Wildsun.
SLU : Did you run into problems with the Wildsun?
Todd : No, not really. That has just been a matter of practice. We received them, tested them very quickly, loaded them onto the truck and sent them to rehearsals. None of us was really familiar with them. I knew that we did not want to use a lot of parameters and therefore we did not immerse ourselves in the extended DMX mode. We decided that 24 channels would be our basis, which allows for a certain flexibility.
In fact, I am very happy with the general appearance of the sources. Everyone was immediately concerned about the LED and pixilation. And with the 4 in 1 chip (RGBW behind the same lens), this “pizza” effect is removed. The LED also pleasantly illuminate the crowd. Their saturation and colours on the audience are superb. The Wildsun have really performed well in this show. But there is always this big question with new technologies: how will the projectors operate after a journey in a truck on the roads in the USA or Europe? They have withstood it rather well. We have not had any mechanical breakdowns…Except for the issue of rain. The rain is our worst enemy when it comes to electronics. Especially where the connectors are concerned, just because of the humidity. It is a constant battle in lighting. But we will be working with a huge “stadium parachute” now in order to avoid these technical issues.
SLU : Is the energy-saving aspect in this type of projector important to you?
Todd : Yes, it was, since I am one of those guys on the tour who is used to going the whole hog! I used all the current in the past, and therefore I know what it means to unwind many cables for many different projectors! Especially when you use traditional ones.
We like the fact that these machines are becoming smaller and smaller with the same yield in lumens.
When I plan, I like to have washes that are a little less powerful and I like to use my figures and content that I will integrate into the show without the need for 4 smoke machines and 4 fog machines on stage in order to see the spots. Therefore, I believe that the LED allow this to be avoided. Everyone tries to create a brighter wash. The VL 3500? They are so powerful that you can’t see anything else on stage. To me it’s counterproductive! I believe that we have found a great balance for this show with a blend of old school components and innovations. It is one way of balancing it all for Jeff.
BETWEEN RADICAL CHANGES AND SURE BETS
And since Todd and Jeff like to combine innovations and safe bets, the «house» projectors run with new sources in a show reproduced on two lighting consoles, which also blend old and new school thanks to a Pathfinder interface allowing an Avolite Diamond II and a GrandMa to be linked, to manage the intensities by using the dimmer (it’s Todd’s job), and the effects and colours on the automatic console.
SLU : Do you have a lot of encoded memories?
Todd : We have just programmed more materials than necessary today. We like to regularly refresh these basics. During the last tour, we catalogued some 260 different songs that Bruce has performed! Since we have to have a wide array of positions to send whenever he decides:” Hey, I’m gonna sing this song since I haven’t done it for 30 years…,” whilst this song is obviously not encoded. We have to find the best general approach in order for it to appear to have been custom-made for him.
ABOUT FOLLOW SPOTS AND MEN
With 11 follow spots to ensure the performer’s and his band’s front and back, we were only mildly surprised to see seats fixed on the galleries/catwalks/trusses, very close to the stage, in the front, but also at the back, the stage surrounded by the audience, just like in an arena, showcasing Bruce Springsteen in great form, but more importantly visible by all.
SLU : How many follow spots did you plan for?
Todd : We have 11 Robert Juliat follow spots. The Topaze in the foreground and the Manon in the background for short focal lengths. We took the Topaze and replaced the discharge lamp with a 2000-W tungsten lamp. For concerts in stadiums we also have 4 Lancelot rigged on the outer towers.
Ludwig Lepage, from the Robert Juliat sales team explains the adjustment.
Ludwig Lepage (Robert Juliat) : The Topaze were transformed into 2000-W halogens (instead of an MSD source), since during the latest tours, Bruce Springsteen and his lighting designer found that his skin was not rendered well with a discharge lamp. Only the wiring inside has changed since the sockets are identical. So, all of the foreground of the concert has been converted into halogen whilst the background is still lit with discharge lamps.
LIGHT, COLOUR TEMPERATURES AND VIDEO SCREENS
Huge or not, a Bruce Springsteen concert lit by Jeff Ravitz is unique. Very sensitive to the audience and with a constant will to maintain proximity, or even intimacy with his audience, the Boss first and foremost wants to be seen by all.
That is why his lighting designer attaches a lot of importance to skin tones, shadows and the performer’s telegenics, filmed nonstop by a host of cameras that do not lose even an instant of the live performance in order to reproduce it on the giant screens surrounding the stage.
SLU : Working the foreground and the faces seems to be very important to you?
Todd : We have VL 3000 in the air and 2500 that are nonetheless the key to the backdrop for everyone. The foreground plays a lot with theatre angles such as, for example, on the keyboard players. It works well with the camera, with the various shooting angles used during the show to achieve a nice contrast with highly theatrical profile spots. You will notice that when Bruce is filmed, half of his face is in the shade and we reproduce this each time.
Of course, when he runs all over the stage, more light is on him since we want everyone to be able to see him.
SLU : Do you adapt your lighting to the numerous acquisitions and broadcasts during the show?
Todd : Yes, definitely. That has been one of our concerns. It is strange since now, in the age of HD cameras, you also notice more skin hues on everyone. You have to worry about embellishing everything you possibly can, to make sure that you are not creating too much material that would be muddy. We have to keep full colours and pay attention to temperatures. It has become very important to Jeff and he is a master on the subject. He is a true specialist at this type of thing. He went as far as to put CTO corrector on the colours in order to make sure that the achieved hue was the correct temperature. He is one of those guys who thinks of all these things. It is probably the reason why he doesn’t sleep much! These are areas in which he is particularly brilliant. I have learned so much from him and from his job.
Enough to make us eager to speak with the man himself, Jeff Ravitz, lighting designer for the Wrecking Ball tour.
JEFF RAVITZ,
A DEVOTED LIGHTING DESIGNER
SLU : Can you tell me your story? How you started in the show lighting desing?
Jeff Ravitz : While I was a student, I worked in summer theatre and was influenced by the great lighting designers I met. Then, shortly after I finished college, I saw a Grateful Dead concert that changed my life. The lighting was «visible», unlike theatre lighting, which, we were taught, should be «invisible». That show was so exciting, beautiful, and expressive, that I dreamed of doing something like that myself. Three weeks later, I answered an advertisement in a local arts newspaper for a position as a lighting designer for a recording group going out on tour. I jumped at the opportunity and got the job. We toured all over, playing clubs and universities, but we also were the opening act for many headline groups, and that experience was invaluable. A few years later, I toured with Kiss as a technician, which furthered my education. And then, my major break was the chance to design for the rock group, Styx. We created highly theatrical shows and in 1977 they were the biggest American touring band. It was fun and it propelled my career forward.
SLU : What is your idea of light?
Jeff Ravitz : Light is what reveals our world to us, visually. And the way it reflects off an object, whether that is a person or a wall, can strongly affect us. It’s all about shape, balance, and three-dimensionality. How something is sculpted out of light can directly affect our mood and psychology. For instance, when light falls on a mountain at sunset, or at mid-day, we have a very different reaction, subconsciously. Our whole world is a painting and it can be flat and dull, or dimensional and rich. As humans, we react to this.
SLU : And for a rock star show?
Jeff Ravitz : A concert–a rock show–depends on lighting to help the audience know what to look at for any given moment. Like a cinematographer helps choose whether a movie audience sees one person or the entire roomful of people, and how they seen them, for a concert we are guiding people through the story of the show, of each song.
As lighting designers, we make a statement with color, with angle, with brightness and darkness, and with the use of movement and texture of light. It is our job to highlight the action and to help people that are far from the stage to know what’s happening. Lighting also keeps pace with the dynamics of the music, and accents it to help connect the audience with the rhythm, the flow, the feel, and the message. We take the mood and magnify it. Lighting delivers the music to the eyes of the audience.
SLU : Especially for Bruce Springsteen?
Jeff Ravitz : We all know Bruce Springsteen could put on an exciting show with no lights. But, as I said, we use lighting to help accent the big musical moments, and to visually illustrate the mood of his words and music. Bruce’s performance and songs can be very dramatic and are quite conducive to highly theatrical lighting. Bruce is a fan of good film cinematography and photography, and he has instilled the appreciation of those art forms in me. So, it becomes a matter of «revealing» Bruce and the E Street Band members in ways that depict a «point of view», a unique way of presenting them for any particular song that they are playing. We use the psychology of color to make a statement about the emotions and the story line of a song. We use texture and broken-up beams of light. And we use the angle of light very deliberately, sometimes to make the musicians look good, natural and happy, and sometimes to make them look troubled, or angry, and so on. Finally, the music has many expressive accents and rhythms, which we try to play along with.
SLU : Does Bruce Springsteen has specific demands regarding: the lighting of the team of public and of itself?
Jeff Ravitz : Yes, he insists that the band member get a lot of attention and care with lighting. They are part of the overall stage «picture» and even though they sometimes can be more in the background when Bruce is doing something where he needs to be the main focus, they always need to be given the proper lighting treatment.
Bruce loves the audience, and their energy makes him work and play and perform harder for them. And, they become part of the show, also. When they are all singing along with him, they must have good lighting in the appropriate color for the song. The audience reacts to this by being even more responsive, and it goes back and forth between Bruce, the band, and the audience. Of course, sometimes, it’s important for them to be in the dark so only Bruce and the band are visible.
Bruce Himself when he is not doing something particularly dramatic, he does like to look good on the screens and to the audience. I work hard to make sure the lighting angles are as flattering as possible, of course, so he does look his best. But, he does not like to look «flat», meaning he likes the lighting to create interesting shadows on his face and body. We also are very careful to make sure he has good light on him from behind so he appears to «pop» out of the background, and not to make him «blend in» to the background.
Bruce loves all colors and he trusts me and my team to choose the best colors for each moment of each song. But, sometimes, he has a very specific idea for the color of a song and we are happy to oblige.
SLU : Does Bruce has specific requests regarding lighting equipment especially LED projectors, smoke or haze?
Jeff Ravitz : Bruce does not have any preferences about lighting equipment or projectors. It is one area he allows me to decide on my own. I do try to show him our newest equipment after its been added to the lighting system, just to keep him familiar with what I’m doing. And he is very happy to know how much energy we are saving by the use of LED.
Bruce has long worried about the effects of smoke and haze on his voice and therefore, it has never been approved. However, this year, we researched some hazers that are used on Broadway shows where singers are also quite sensitive to the issue of haze. We tried it in rehearsal, placing the machines far from the stage in order to achieve a very, very slight amount of haze in the air, just to enhance the effects of patterns and light beams in the air. Management is very happy with the results and Bruce has not complained that it has bothered him or his voice.
SLU : What do you think about Ayrton Wildsun, why did you select it?
Jeff Ravitz : I’m a big fan of the Ayrton Wildsun. I think it’s a very good fixture.
I have been wanting to explore the use of a high quality LED fixture to replace our automated wash lights, because the new technology offers many advantages. Lower power consumption and less maintenance are important issues, as well as the benefits of additive color mixing and very fast color changes. Our previous wash lights had tungsten lamps. Bruce liked the warm, natural color that they provided. Therefore, I wanted an LED light that would offer a similar foundation of color balance.
Many of the LED fixtures are smaller in size. I wanted a slightly larger LED fixture to add a sense of bigger scale to the overall appearance of the lighting system.
Morpheus Lights helped me to choose a fixture by setting up a very extensive comparison demonstration of all the best LED moving lights. We spent two days metering and comparing color, appearance, speed and smoothness of movement, and brightness levels. The Wildsun’s white LEDs are warmer than most of other lights we tested, which means the overall base of mixed colors would also shift a little bit warmer, which I liked. Its other colors are pure and bright, too. And the overall diameter of the LED surface is larger, too, just like I wanted. That means the beam is fatter and the overall light output is brighter. The fade-up and fade-down could be adjusted to be as smooth as an incandescent fixture. The cost of the light was another deciding factor. The Wildsun was affordable, which was important, because we needed a lot of them. Morpheus and I agreed the Wildsun offers great features and attractive value.
SLU : What do you think of the wildsun zoom, its speed, its aperture?
Jeff Ravitz : The Wildsun pans and tilts are extremely fast. Our movement effects, and the ability to quickly change focus from one location onstage to another are now greatly improved.
The Wildsun zooms to a wide 45 degree flood which covers a lot of territory. And it’s gives a smooth field of light.
At 11 degrees of spot focus, the light is extremely bright, tight and results in a very strong beam of light.
During the show, I often change the zoom of the lights, as needed for any particular cue. But I do prefer a medium sized zoom sie that works for most cues.
SLU : What is exactly the mission of Wildsun 500?
Jeff Ravitz : I use the Wildsun 500 as the base layer of color and ambience for the overall onstage lighting. The Wildsun are used to make a very strong, full-stage, color statement that I can change quickly as the music or mood changes. It’s the soft texture I use in counterpoint to the quality of the sharp, profile fixtures.
SLU : Will you select this Wash on TV sets?
Jeff Ravitz : can make use of this light for TV shows. Since our shows are shot in high definition for the screens, I can see that the Wildsun work well on-camera.
And between the screens, follow spots, other spots, the new LED sources and the old Morpheus moving heads, not to mention the strobes that also made their debut during the 2012 tour, some 350 projectors illuminate the Bercy stage tonight.
And even if sometimes the Sharpy’s batons or spot beams are not really recognised due to fog, they are certainly present for the first time near the Boss but still very discreet, this is not the goal pursued by the lighting designer.
Jeff Ravitz in fact designed traditional rock concert lighting, American style, multiplying the scenes with few lights dimmed, favouring a constant mood, highly coloured and nuanced, helped by the superb Wildsun colours, which form an integral part of the show. By truly showing us all of the performers present on stage, thanks to the numerous profile spots and the VL1100 installed in fore- and background, he creates a certain intimacy, enhanced by a very warm ambient colour temperature.
So yes, we are surprised not to find ourselves amid beams galore and radical changes between songs, but we are filled with wonder about the consistency of it all and the integration of new LED sources next to the traditional Vari*Lite spots and Morpheus projectors we discover. Big L2D2 LED moving heads are spectacular and the whites of the Ayrton moving heads truly add value to a lighting design, which attaches as much importance to the accuracy of the colours as to the variations of white.
We had gone to see a great performance, and we discovered a whole way of working light, of moving the artist and his audience to the heart of the show and to take up a large venue such as Bercy, to our great delight. A truly enjoyable and generous live performance.
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