NASHVILLE – Design of Mutemath’s recent US tour production was a creative collaboration between the band themselves and Jeff Lava and Darien Koop of Nashville-based 44 Designs. To control the lighting and visuals, they chose a Jands Vista T2 console, running the next generation Vista v2 software.
More details from Jands Europe (http://www.jandsvista.com):
NASHVILLE – A Jands Vista T2 console, running the next generation Vista v2 software, has been controlling lighting and visuals for progressive rockers Mutemath on their recent US tour.
The tour’s production design was a creative collaboration between the band themselves and Jeff Lava and Darien Koop of Nashville-based 44 Designs.
44 Designs are a full-service visual design practice, specializing in creating lighting, video and staging concepts for all types of performance and live shows. The company now owns five Jands Vista consoles after purchasing their first when 44 Designs was formed in 2008. They continue to be firm advocates of the brand, citing that with Vista v2 software it really is the ultimate “designer’s tool.”
The touring system features a lighting floor package including a selection of moving lights and generics, as well as a 24 ft wide aluminium screen-like structure which is supported from a rear truss. The structure is fed with mapped video stored on a Pandora’s Box media server.
In addition to their own touring equipment, Mutemath plugged in to the house lighting rig at each venue. The Vista’s ability to quickly and accurately swap and clone programming between different fixture types, even using different color systems, offered quick and easy integration of the available venue lighting into their show each day.
Koop, who programmed the T2 and ran visuals on the tour, is impressed with the performance of the Vista v2 software.
He thinks the Timeline editing on Vista v2 is “fantastic,” allowing the operator to drill down to far greater depths and much faster than before. “They have really nailed the timeline now, it’s very simple and offers possibilities that I’ve not found on other consoles,” he says.
One function that has helped him out is the ability to customize and build new fixture profiles on the console. This feature was used to write a personality for the new Pandora’s Box v5 before it was generally available, creating exactly the profile they wanted, and even tailored to the way the media server is specifically being used on their tour.
Koop believes that Jands listens to user feedback in their quest for continual improvement of all their products. On top of that, he notes the superlative service, support and backup through Jands’ US distributors, AC Lighting Inc.
