BLACKBURN, UK – HSL supplied lighting, Kinesys automation system and crew to international operatic / pop vocal superstars Il Divo’s UK/European leg of their “Wicked Game” world tour. HSL was brought on-board by tour director and production manager Andy Proudfoot, for the design team of LD Matt Pitman and artistic director Brian Burke.
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BLACKBURN, UK – UK lighting and visual rentals specialist HSL’s busy spring and early summer season continues, supplying lighting, Kinesys automation system and crew to international operatic / pop vocal superstars Il Divo.
The successful ‘crossover’ group who have made this popular genre their own have just completed the first full production UK and European leg of their “Wicked Game” world tour.
It was HSL’s first tour with the band, after being brought on-board by tour director and production manager Andy Proudfoot.
Lighting designer Matt Pitman started work with Il Divo for this tour following a one-off stadium show in Paraguay at the end of 2011 in front of 36,000 people. His design has brought additional vibrancy and vitality to the stunning set and screen elements that are part of artistic director Brian Burke’s visual concept.
Pitman is pleased to be working with HSL again, where the tour is project managed by project manager Mike Oates. Pitman has been involved in various projects with Blackburn based HSL, and comments, “What can I say – an absolutely brilliant company! Their attitude, standards and work ethics are amazing, and best of all, they are all genuine people. It is like dealing professionally with your friends.”
The schedule of the first three months of the Wicked Game tour meant that they were picking up local production everywhere based on a spec – so effectively: a B Rig scenario. During this time, HSL was still proactive in supporting Pitman and the production.
Their draftsman Rupert Reynolds provided numerous sets of drawings, and all the necessary paperwork needed by Pitman to advance the initial shows smoothly was supplied and backed up by HSL. “Rupert’s assistance was invaluable,” affirms Pitman.
Burkes’ stylish visual and set design for Wicked Game features three striking curved screens. The main brief was that the lighting rig had to complement these and also fit around them in terms of rigging.
Pitman responded by curving his trusses to the same degree as the orchestra risers below, with the help of custom fabricated corner sections that worked with HSL’s special James Thomas pre-rigged truss. He comments that he is always really impressed with HSL‘s resourcefulness at finding custom solutions for any physical elements of his rigs.
The lighting design also had to be flexible to deal with the different stage sizes and roof weight loadings across the variety of venues they were playing.
Pitman is a big Martin Professional MAC 3 fan, and so chose 25 of these fixtures to be his key over-stage moving lights. “I love the beam and its definition, it remains so sharp and has great depth of field even over long distances,” he says, “They are the only profile that I would ever spec for this size of design.”
There were two overhead trusses comprising of four 3 meter and two 2 meter sections curved using the hinges, plus a straight 15 meter front truss.
Spread over these were the 25 MAC 3Ks together with 20 VARI*LITE 3500 Washes and two V*L 1000 ASs.
On the deck were 15 MAC 700 Profiles used for effects and dramatic, piercing back beams.
Under the orchestra risers sat 24 Robe ROBIN 600 LED Washes, which created plenty of dynamics and filled in spaces for the IMAG camera mix in the arenas, as well as adding another complete visual layer.
Focussed on the upstage cyc and side drapes were 12 V*L 3500 Washes, and on the side ‘shelves’ at the back of the stage for low level cross stage beams shooting downward were six Robe ColorBeam 700E ATs.
Pitman operates the show using a grandMA1 full size console.
It’s a graceful, well-paced show with a completely different set of requirements from a standard rock or pop production. He spent two weeks pre-programming the building blocks with Burke while the band were rehearsing at Music Bank in London, for which HSL supplied him with a WYSIWYG system.
The creative challenges of lighting are to find a diversity of different ways of punctuating the music, which tends to feature big anthemic builds, dramatic plateaus and gentle fades, with stabs here and there. The trick, explains Pitman, is trying to have something ‘up the sleeve’ to use for accenting the intricacies, weaving groups of fixtures around each other without noticeably subtracting elements of the songs.
The HSL lighting crew included Dan Tiley (crew chief), Chris Roper, Steve Bliss, Stuart “Wales” Picton and Neil “Braveheart” Smith. “They’re all fantastic,” says Pitman. “Dan is a brilliant crew chief, and the boys cover so many disciplines amongst their skill sets. They’re bloomin’ ace!”
Andy “Paris” Hilton operated the Kinesys system, which consisted of nine Liftket 1 ton motors with Kinesys Elevation 1+ controllers fitted, three of which were used on each of the three curved video screens, made up from Pixled F-11 panels supplied by XL Video.
All the motors were inverted, with the Elevation 1+’s residing in the mother grid in keeping with the overall clean aesthetic of the show. This also reduced motor noise.
Hilton used one of HSL’s Kinesys Vector controllers and had 19 cues in the show, mostly taking place during the blackouts, with a few subtle ones during strategic songs.
HSL’s Mike Oates comments, “We’re proud to work on a tour of this caliber and with Andy (Proudfoot) and the team, all delivering such high production values. Matt has made a superb job of the design, the whole show is absolutely world class with the popularity and stature of the tour speaking for themselves.”
