LOS ANGELES — Rapper Pitbull performed his latest single, “Bad Man,” on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Feb. 16, the night following the Grammys, where Pitbull also performed (and won an award). Fallon’s show, normally based in New York, was filming in Los Angeles Feb. 15-19, and Pitbull was joined by Robin Thicke, Joe Perry and Travis Barker along with a cadre of dancers and some hyperkinetic lighting looks achieved with the help of Elation Professional’s new ACL 360 Roller effect lights.
More details from Elation (www.elationlighting.com):
After performing and winning at The Grammy’s the night before, Pitbull was joined on the Tonight Show stage by Robin Thicke, Joe Perry and Travis Barker. “Pitbull songs need a big look to support the energy he brings to the stage and we needed a bright and quick fixture for the song Bad Man,” said Remotes Lighting Designer for the Tonight Show Mick Smith, who manages the visual look of the show and musical elements for out-of-town productions like the week-long run in L.A. Show lighting designer at the Tonight Show NBC Studio home in New York is Fred Bock.
“Adding in Travis Barker, Joe Perry, and Robin Thicke is a powerful combination that demands a major lighting presence. We knew these were going to be key fixtures for this musical act when [Elation’s] Eric Loader and John Dunn showed them to us,” Mick said of the unique 4-bar LED moving head luminaires that cast an energy-packed 360° array of multi-colored effects. “The Rollers were surprisingly bright and a good match with an existing rig of powerful moving heads,” he says. “The continuous full 360° pan and tilt rotation and individual pixel control were essential features for us.”
Mick lined the ACL 360 Rollers downstage left and right to define the main stage area and placed more fixtures in a full stage row upstage of Travis Barker. “When you find the right place to use them in a design, the features of the Rollers stand out above many other fixture options out there,” Mick stated. “They can give us a look we don’t have anywhere else for the music productions. I really enjoyed using these fixtures and wish we could have used them again for one of our other acts that week. I was surprised at how effective these were for us. A fixture like the Roller generally isn’t on my radar or in my standard toolkit, but I’m glad they are now.”
