“You can feel that everyone is just on fire and is excited that things are coming back to normal.” —Manfred Nikitser. Photo by Steve Jennings
Prior to their Rock Believer World Tour in May, the Scorpions performed a sold-out run of their Sin City Nights residency March 26-April 16 at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater in Las Vegas. Manfred Nikitser handled the lighting design, direction, programming and operating, and was also responsible for the video content design. In addition, he acted as show producer when it came to the show opening and the drum solo highlight of the show. PLSN spoke with Nikitser about the special design for the residency and with Craig Caserta of lighting vendor Volt Lites about their working relationship for the special gig.
LD Manfred Nikitser onsite at the Zappos Theater. Photo by Florian Bauer
Behind the Design
When Austrian designer Manfred Nikitser first began working with the hard rock German band in 2015, he admits he “wasn’t aware of how big they were outside of the German-speaking realm.” He quickly became aware of their 57 years of popularity since founder/guitarist Rudolf Schenker formed the band. Iconic hits such as “Wind of Change” and “Rock You Like a Hurricane” still attract millions of new fans to their music worldwide.
In just one year, Nikitser quickly moved from media server programmer to lighting programmer, becoming lighting designer for the 50th Anniversary Tour. “The band needed a quick redesign of the lighting for their North America tour in 2016, and I offered to do so and got the job and voilà—that was the beginning of the lighting design collaboration with the Scorpions,” Nikitser says.
In 2020 he designed lighting for the Crazy World Tour, which included a special performance for 120,000 fans at Rock in Rio—with Nikitser programming the show just hours before the band went on stage because of travel logistics in Brazil.
A large variety and quantity of GLP fixtures make up the rig. Photo by Steve Jennings
Now he’s designed their 2022 Rock Believer World Tour, which shares the design of the Sin City Nights residency. His approach to both was to go “back to basics, back to a rock band look,” he says. “My ultimate goal was to have a lighting stage set and not another LED screen covered stage set since I don’t think it is any improvement as a direct background of the band.”
The central visual elements on stage are the pyramid-shaped drum riser and a semi-circular stage set encasing it. Both custom-made components are built out of metal grilles and contain different fixtures and blinders on top and behind, contributing to the overall lighting design. There are two identical stage sets, built by schoko pro GmbH based in Berlin, Germany, with one in the U.S. and the other in Europe ready for the tour.
“The biggest challenge with video is to have proper content that doesn’t light up the entire stage,” the LD says.
Photo by Steve Jennings
“The idea in general was to have a set design that puts the band in the foreground and not to have a sterile cold LED riser set that everyone knows from various shows,” he notes. “So, having the drums lower than in the past and giving the band the chance to run up to the drummer during the concert was an important part to give this show a rock character again. This, combined with strong lighting in the background, was the base for a ‘modern rock’ look.”
The roof has eight truss fingers, each with eight Elation Professional Artist Monet and seven GLP JDC1 hybrid strobes. The front of each finger additionally has two Prolight ArenaCob 4FC LED blinders. Side ladders feature Robe MegaPointe and GLP HIGHLANDER Wash fixtures. Volt Lites worked with Nikitser on his fixture selection, introducing him to some luminaires that were new to him.
Nikitser likes using products such as GLP’s impression X4 Bars and JDC1 Hybrid Strobes that enhance the stage architecture. Photo by Steve Jennings
‘Shocked,’ ‘Skeptical,’ ‘Sold’
Lighting professional Craig Caserta got off the road last year and joined Volt Lites. As the project manager/account rep for the Scorpions’ residency, his role as a lighting vendor is quite different, yet in some ways the same. “As a programmer my job was to make the designer and client happy, and that is still my task,” he explains. “I am able to use my 30 years of touring and television experience to make sure nothing falls through the cracks when putting together a project.”
Volt Lites purchased a large quantity of fixtures for the residency, including 130 Prolights ArenaCob 4FC LED blinders. “The ArenaCob was an important part of the puzzle as the stairs/drum riser was custom built to house these fixtures. No other fixture would fit,” Caserta notes. Nikitser says he was “a bit shocked” when he first saw the ArenaCob fixtures in late 2021 because he was unaware of them. “I love their retro blinder look with the additional filter options and their dimmer curves,” the LD says. “Finally, there is an LED blinder that can be flashed similar to a DWE blinder but can also do more than just warm white. There are 83 of them built into the steps of the drum riser, and 16 are on the fingers in pairs of two to create an eight-light DWE blinder look. That look is extended over the I-Mag screens with five pairs on each side.”
When Nikitser was searching for a bright profile fixture for the eight over truss head fingers, Caserta suggested the Elation Professional Artiste Monet. “After Manfred did a demo of the fixture, he was sold on using that as the workhorse of the rig,” Caserta notes. The LD also used the Monet fixtures as remote followspots via the Follow-Me 3D SIX remote performer tracking system, operated by local stagehands with Otto Schildknecht and Florian Bauer in charge of the system. Nikitser was happy with the Monet’s accuracy on positions. “At first I was very skeptical about the Monet,” Nikitser admits. “As we play in so many different countries with a local vendor, I can’t just specify one fixture and hope to get it. That’s why in our rider we ask for fixture types within a specific performance category. The Monet met the requirements. And they surprised me a lot. The brightness is amazing, they are fast, the zoom is great for this kind of show, and I love the fixed colors to make sure we don’t have to compromise with saturated colors like lavender, a deep blue, or green.”
The Elation Professional Artiste Monet became a workhorse of the rig. Photo by Manfred Nikitser
The vendor also purchased 60 GLP JDC Line 500 that the LD requested for the upstage set piece. Other GLP fixtures provided included the X4 L, JDC1, impression X4 Bar 20, and impression X4 Bar 10. While Nikitser admits that it seems natural for a German band to use German lighting, he says, “I have a great relationship with GLP; I don’t think this has anything to do with working for a German band, though. I just think GLP is a very unique manufacturer who is willing to go the extra mile and thinks around the corner when developing products.”
He adds, “I look for products that enhance a stage architecture. I am not talking about traditional moving lights. Products like X4 Bars or JDC1s are real innovative products that give lighting designers the possibility to get versatile looks out of a design. But the HIGHLANDER Wash is a monster of a fixture; I love the two fixed color wheels and the huge front lens.”
He makes use of Robe products as well, positioning MegaPointes on the eight side ladders and on the floor across the stage set. “On those positions I need a real hybrid fixture that works as a spot, a soft wash beam, or a narrow beam with a traditional prism. The side ladders connect the overhead lighting with the floor set and ensures side shots of the stage are covered,” the LD notes. Volt Lites also bought 84 Robe LEDBeam 350, used in the stage set behind the metal grilles and as beam wash in the direct background of the band. “I love their form factor that comes with a crisp beam and a great brightness,” Nikitser adds.
Further describing how he selects fixtures, especially dealing with lighting ambiance from the video screens, Nikitser says, “Fixtures for this show need to meet a certain brightness, otherwise it won’t work with this trim. To me, the zoom, and a proper color mixing system plus proper fixed colors are always something I look at, as well as the brightness.”
Extra house lights were deployed in the design, which included 42 PRG Best Boy luminaires in their original installation position in Zappos Theater with 14 in the front truss and seven blocks of four units in the audience. “Thanks to the angled house front truss, it really achieved a very parabolic arc look that was a great finish to the proscenium. The 28 units in the house in front of the balcony were perfect audience backlight for all audience camera shots, as well as for extending the show lighting into the audience atmosphere.”
Nikitser also made use of the 14 VL3500 Wash FX in a similar fashion, positioned in the house front truss. “Who doesn’t love the 3500 Wash? Together with the Best Boys, they created a great roof look as well as a great extension of the finger trusses and background for the moments when the band ran out to the end of the thrust.”
The LD is a big fan of live camera integration within the content. Photo by Steve Jennings
Video, Not Wallpaper
During the design phase, their first mission was to work on the video content, which got the entire band involved. “The biggest challenge with video is to have proper content that doesn’t light up the entire stage—that could be a real scenic element on stage—and that is not just wallpaper,” Nikitser says. “Video content is the main thing that can either destroy a stage mood or make it really cool.”
Using the disguise gx2c media server with the theater’s in-house WinVision 9 LED video wall backdrop, Nikitser chose a Blackmagic Design ATEM Constellation video switcher because of its multiple mixer levels. “That way, the multi-camera setup is not just one camera on five screens,” he explains. “We have three different shots on three screens, and they are mixed individually. To make that happen, we are using CuePilot, software from the broadcast world. A special software called Universe translates all the commands of each software and sends it to the video switcher. With that I can switch the video source on level two and three from the lighting console while the live camera director works on the I-Mag screens. Thanks to CuePilot, every camera operator—under Live Camera Director Otto Schildknecht—has a little tablet and knows exactly when she or he will be on, and what the shot is supposed to be. So, it’s a very comprehensive setup, but why not use all this technology that can help us to get the best show we can?”
On the traditional side LED screens, I-Mag content is interspersed with visual content, created by Pacific Digital, to become part of the scenery. “I am a big fan of live camera integration within the content and breaking this line between the elements and melting it together to one big show,” he notes. Video vendors included Background Images (BGI), which provided the I-Mag screens and cameras, and Alleycat Rentals, which provided the media servers, FOH, and specials.
The design approach was to “go back to a rock band look.” Photo by Manfred Nikitser
Rock Believer World Tour
The LD enjoyed the breathing room that the residency gave him in the production, with a bigger and wider stage and a stretched-out truss layout. “Everybody in the theater had the feeling of sitting in the first row from any seat. Sight lines weren’t a problem, and I personally think we maxed out the possibilities of where things can be hung at Zappos Theater.”
Says Caserta, “Manfred and I started working on this project back in September 2021, and it was an absolute pleasure working with him and the whole Scorpions team. From day one, it had a family vibe, as the team has been together for over 15 years, and they all made me, and Volt, feel like part of the family.”
It all changes on the Rock Believer World Tour this summer, again under the direction of Touring Director Olaf Schröter and Production Manager Roland Beckerle. For one, there is no lighting vendor. “In Europe, we only tour with two trucks with the stage set, the floor lighting, the video cameras, and FOH,” Nikitser says. “Everything else, meaning the overhead lighting and the LED screens, are provided locally in each country. This requires a comprehensive pre-production but allows us to tour back-to-back in different countries all over Europe.”
But when Scorpions return to North America with guests Whitesnake, they will be carrying production again from an unannounced vendor starting Aug. 21 in Toronto, ending in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay on Oct. 21, 2022. “It was a fantastic feeling to do an arena show again,” Nikitser says, “and everybody missed it a lot. You can feel that everyone is just on fire and is excited that things are coming back to normal.”
The designer wanted video content that didn’t light up the entire stage. Photo by Manfred Nikitser
Scorpions Sin City Nights Residency
Zappos Theater, Las Vegas NV
Production Team:
- Tour Manager: Bill Barclay
- Touring Director: Olaf Schröter
- Production Manager: Roland Beckerle
- Production Coordinator USA: Stephen Croxford
- Show Designer & Lighting Operator: Manfred Nikitser (www.manfrednikitser.com)
- Stage Manager: Dirk Schindler
- Production Assistant: Karel Croxford
- Video Director/Live Camera Operator: Otto Schildknecht
- Camera Man 1: Andreas Roloff
- Camera Rack Engineer: Stefan Beck
- Stage Set Tech: Olaf Pöttcher
- Assistant Lighting Operator: Rainer Becker
- Lighting Technician: Florian Bauer
- Head Video Tech: Jindřich Jankulár
- Follow-Me System: Florian Bauer and Otto Schildknecht
Vendors
- Lighting Vendor: Volt Lites
- Volt Lites Team: Craig Caserta, Mike Gallagher, Adam Finer
- I-Mag and Camera Vendor: Background Images (BGI)
- Stage Set and Drum Riser Fabrication: schoko pro GmbH
- FOH, Media Servers, Specials: Alleycat Rentals
Gear
Lighting
- 2 MA Lighting grandMA3 full-size Console
- 1 MA Lighting grandMA3 light Console
- 5 MA Lighting MA PU-M
- 2 Follow-Me 3D SIX System
- 87 Elation Professional Artiste Monet
- 12 GLP HIGHLANDER Wash
- 66 Robe MegaPointe
- 76 Robe LEDBeam 350
- 24 GLP impression X4 L
- 73 GLP JDC1 Hybrid Strobe
- 54 GLP JDC Line 500
- 16 GLP impression X4Bar 20
- 2 GLP impression X4Bar 10
- 119 Prolights ArenaCob 4FC LED Blinder
House Lighting
- 42 PRG Best Boy 4000 Spots
- 14 Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash FX
- 4 Reel EFX DF-50 Diffusion Hazer
Video
- 2 disguise gx 2c Media Server
- 1 Universe Control Software
- 1 CuePilot Software
- 1 Blackmagic Design ATEM Constellation 8K Switcher
- 4 Blackmagic Design URSA Broadcast G2 Camera
House Video
- WinVision 9mm LED Screen
