FRANCE – In late 2012, Michel Sardou began a four-month “Les Grands Moments” tour across France. No traditional spotlights were used. Lighting designer Jacques Rouveyrollis used just one type of spotlight on stage throughout the tour – the MAC Viper Profile.
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FRANCE – In late 2012, Michel Sardou began a four-month “Les Grands Moments” tour across France, revisiting his biggest hits in an energetic show. Lighting designer Jacques Rouveyrollis used just one type of spotlight on stage throughout the tour – the MAC Viper Profile – a somewhat bold choice given it was the lighting fixture’s French début, but one that delivered on all its promises.
The Dushow Group supplied 93 MAC Viper Profiles, with 56 equally spaced over three gantries and 37 on the floor spread across four levels.
No traditional spotlights were used. The simple lighting plan acted as the sole stage design element and provided the performance area with structure by offering a wide variety of effects. At front of house, 6 MAC III Performances were positioned behind the control desk for extra punch.
The MAC Vipers enabled the LD to design several different lighting scenarios to accompany the various songs. Using a single type of light source provided a sense of harmony between songs as the color temperature remained identical throughout. Even when changing beam density and direction, the lighting remained uniformly consistent.
The MAC Viper also gave scope to a variety of effects via the gobos it offers from two 5-slot rotating gobo wheels. Rouveyrollis made the most of the graphics both within the space and as projection, and also had the chance to incorporate animation looks from the fixture’s FX wheel into his design.
Another touring advantage of the MAC Viper was its size. Increased power typically means increased size but that’s not the case with the Viper, whose compact and lightweight format eases the riggers’ work, a significant advantage on such a long tour. The MAC Viper can reach a light intensity of 26,000 lumens (brighter than some 1200 W models available on the market). All that from a lamp rated at only 1000 W, meaning the energy saved is about 100 KW per Viper compared with 600 KW on traditionally lit tours. On the “Les Grands Moments” tour, that power savings allowed for enough headroom to create an intense light curtain as a backdrop.
