LONDON — Stevie Marr, lighting and video designer for Maximo Park’s Quicken the Heart tour, is using Martin MAC III Profiles, MAC 250 Washes and Atomic 3000 strobes in his design. Lite Alternative is supplying the gear. “I needed a quality laser effect without an actual laser because regulations prevent the crowd scanning effect that I really wanted,” Marr said, of his decision to use the MAC III Profile for the look. Glen Johnson, who ran the show, recommended the MAC III for the job. “They did that job and more.”
As with 2009 tours for Elton John, Billy Joel, Beyonce, the Jonas Brothers and others, Martin’s 1500 watt MAC III Profile is being used for its fat beam looks, CMY color mixing system, dual gobo wheels and gobo animation system.
“I have never used gobos with Maximo Park and have shied away from gobo looks for quite a few years now,” said Marr. “I’d never really seen a light that could do enough with gobos against the LED I’ve been using. It may just be nostalgia but since the demise of the Icon nothing has really caught my attention. Until now that is.”
Marr has the MAC IIIs positioned across the upstage on 3-meter centers, working through an array of 16 upright LED tubes. “The electronic strobing of the MAC III is particularly effective for the fake laser looks,” he said. “The wide zoom coupled with excellent optics help make big pictures out of a limited quantity of lights.”
Marr calls the MAC 250 Washes his workhorses and “a general purpose light that just does what it’s told without any fuss. It’s light in weight and footprint while still able to hold its own against a backdrop of LED video.” Marr has used a variety of LED displays with Maximo including Martin’s LC Series LED panels. Gavin Tomkins from XL Video looks after all LED on the show.
Lite Alternative’s Gareth Pritchard and Ivan Ellison reported no trouble regarding any of the lighting equipment. Maximo Park wrapped up a sold out UK tour in late spring and are playing European and North American dates through October.
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