MIAMI – Koen De Puysseleir of Belgian company Light in Motion is creative director for the international DJ, Tiësto, and for some of the artist's 2011 appearances, Martin EC-20 LED displays provided by Zenith Lighting will serve as a visual focal point. The DJ's tour, which will continue through May, is produced by Insomniac Productions in the U.S. De Puysseleir, who manages visuals including staging, lighting, video, special effects and lasers, chose the EC-20 for "the quality of the screen, its brightness and reliability. Some people have even asked what pitch it has and they wouldn't believe me when I said it's 20mm," he added.
Availability was another factor in giving the EC-20 the nod, and "a third reason is the fact that it is brand new," De Puysseleir said. "Incorporating brand new equipment in your designs almost guarantees that it will be 100 percent functional and with good output."
All media content across the EC-20 panels is driven through the P3-100 system controller, which treats LED screens like lighting instruments through direct DMX control of brightness, color and pixel-mapping.
"I really think the P3-100 controller is one of the key reasons for the ease of use with this screen," De Puysseleir noted. "The software is so easy that almost everyone understands it instantly, and if I do run across someone who doesn't understand it, I can easily do it myself within a couple of seconds."
De Puysseleir explained that DJ concerts differ from other types of shows because there is usually just one person in a fixed position. A Tiësto show, he added, has no running order or set list like most other concerts, which can be a challenge.
"Tiësto likes to feel the crowd and play accordingly," said De Puysseleir. "In my opinion, this is a huge contribution to the show, but does make it hard to create a show that follows him at every moment. This is why we chose to keep the entire visual aspect as centralized as possible and to combine as many aspects as possible to my position."
For the tour's new design, the EC-20 screen is placed centrally behind the artist with Martin LC Plus 2140 LED panels on the floor behind him. The EC-20 screen size varies depending on the size of the show, from 2 by 6 meters to 5 by 15 meters, but is always in a 3-to-1 ratio.
So far, "the screens have been perfect," De Puysseleir said, crediting their quick reaction time, and also the professionalism of the support crew. "Thanks to the right crew and their understanding of what I want, the EC-20 is the ideal choice for my shows."
"We have been using Martin products for a few years now with Tiësto and some other big dance artists," noted Insomniac's Jeff Kenney, who may assume a number of roles on Tiësto shows from tour director to production manager to stage manager. "Last year, Insomniac did around 50 shows with Martin LC panels – including some smaller club gigs," he added.
"The EC-20 has been superb so far," Kenney continued. "I love the new system because we often load in arena shows the morning of a show, and this stuff goes up fast. The EC-20 takes less space on the truck, goes together super quick, and is just a gorgeous image. It is also a good plus that a single processor works across the entire system."
Insomniac must source their rentals in every market, which Kenney cited as his toughest job. He credited Zenith Lighting for their assistance for many of the Tiësto performances. "They have worked with us extensively in the past and carry a good quantity of Martin products that I need," Kenney said, adding that Zenith "is able to get our video anywhere in the country at a reasonable cost due to savings on trucking."
Zenith, who currently has 100 square meters of EC-20 panels in its inventory, did several comparison tests with various products prior to choosing the gear.
"Our purchasing decision was based upon the design and engineering quality, which is the best we've seen," noted Chas Herington, Zenith president. "The ease of use in both build and operation is impressive and the image quality, color uniformity and brightness are excellent. And driving the panels via the P3-100 platform is superb. A strong Martin brand and the company's worldwide network were also determining factors."
Zenith also supplies MAC 101 and MAC 301 Wash LED moving heads for Tiësto, as well as the LC Plus LED panels. The MAC 101s and MAC 301s are curved around the DJ booth with Martin Atomic 3000 strobes and MAC 700s also getting in on the act depending on the show.
For more information, please visit www.martin.com and www.zenithlighting.com.
