DALLAS – Jennifer Lopez is embarking on her first headlining world tour. LD/ programmer Sean Burke is using VARI-LITE VL3500 Wash FX and VL3000 Spot luminaires from Upstaging to shine a light on the artist and her stage full of dancers, as well as cut through the bright ambient light created from the LED video screens.
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DALLAS – With the launch of her 2012 World Tour, Jennifer Lopez is embarking on her first headlining live tour. LD/ programmer Sean Burke has created an energetic and dramatic lighting design using VARI-LITE VL3500 Wash FX and VL3000 Spot luminaires provided by Upstaging.
“This is the first live tour for Jennifer so director Jaime King brought everyone into the process early,” Burke said. “He took the production from a normal touring show to quite an extravaganza in terms of the dancers, choreography and all the things that he brings to the table. His take on the production went from something simple to dramatic, so we knew we would need to match that drama with the lighting.”
Burke realized that he would have to approach the layout of his design a bit differently as the show became filled with dancers, choreography, and small vignettes that would be spread across the large stage measuring 62’ wide x 48’ deep, filled with a backdrop of LED video screens. Additionally, there is a 60’ catwalk that has a 16’ x 16’ B-Stage at the end used for scene changes between the vignettes. Adding all this together, Burke knew that the power of the video walls and long throw distances would be a challenge.
“There is a large amount of video on this tour and you always go back to the problem of matching the intensity with the lights, and how you try to marry the two. I get involved in a lot of the video content creation these days and I have learned over the years that you can make it difficult for yourself by trying to fight the video wall. You have to find ways to either come around the side of it, the bottom of it, or come over the top. You have to seriously think about where you are going to put the fixtures because you can’t just hang them anywhere, but the main component for success is that the fixtures have to be powerful.”
Searching for the ideal lights for his design, Burke turned to Authorized VARI-LITE Dealer Upstaging for 80 VL3500 Wash FX and 74 VL3000 Spot luminaires.
Burke added, “I love dealing with Upstaging because they are a fantastic company with a great crew and I really can’t say enough about them. Lighting Crew Chief Ken Burns has been a fantastic help in putting the tour together. He reacts quickly to changes that may need to be made and was instrumental in our success.”
As the tech rehearsals got underway, Burke had his first chance to see the lights in action.
“The lighting workhorses for this show are definitely the wash lights. I have been using the VL3500 Wash fixtures for a while now and I really like them. They are an extremely flexible fixture and they are doing something that really no other light on the market can do. It’s the perfect weapon to combat high-powered video walls, but now when you add in the FX unit you get two bangs for your buck: gobo patterns in addition to a really wide wash that’s incredibly bright and can zoom down into a pencil beam. It’s an incredible fixture.”
Burke also needed a powerful spot luminaire to act as its complement, and that’s how he used the VL3000 Spot luminaires.
“The VL3000 Spots are great fixtures that are completely versatile. In terms of a spot unit being big and bright, that can go from a narrow beam to a wide beam, with consistent and smooth operation; the VL3000 Spot is a perfect complement to the VL3500 Wash FX. Plus, it makes it easier on the crew when all the lights in the rig are consistent. Given that the VL3500 Wash FX and VL3000 Spot do everything needed for this show, there was no need to mix them up with other fixtures.”
Currently scheduled to close in the United Arab Emirates in November 2012, Burke and the tour will cross many international borders with many surprises along the way. But with his design powered by VARI-LITE luminaires, the performance of his rig is not a concern at all.
Burke said, “Every once in awhile you come across a fixture that is a leap in technology and the VL3500 Wash FX is that light. Choosing VARI-LITE luminaires really brought this lighting design together, and to do the job that I had to do, the VL3500 Wash FX and VL3000 Spot luminaires work perfect.”
