With the competition for the music audience extremely high in Greece, a designer has to constantly bring fresh concepts to a production to set their show apart from the others. Even a popular Greek singer such as Yiannis Kotsiras needs a show that stands above the competitors.
So for the performer’s extended runs in two Greek venues, LD George Tellos chose to use four High End Systems’ DL1s and a Catalyst Pro Media Server -- controlled with a Wholehog 3 console -- to take the production to a new level.
Says Tellos, “The idea for the show was to project images not conventionally on a vertical background screen, but to integrate the images within the set. The idea was to horizontally design moving surfaces -- four 2-meter discs -- that can be flown up and down above the stage at various angles to reflect moving images and to find additional surfaces on the stage -- like the front of the risers for the musicians-- that will accent the design.”
The DL1s (with the Digital Eye technology) and Catalyst system integrated with the Wholehog 3 not only made this possible, but quickly became the focal point of Kotsiras’ show.
“In the past we would have had to design specific rigging structures to hang projectors,” he explains. “But then the projectors could only be used for one surface and most likely would have been an ugly eyesore from the audience point of view. With the DL1s we were able to integrate the fixtures within the floor plan and have infinite possibilities for projection angles, as well as the additional option to use them as a light source. This multi-use attribute is worth the rental cost alone. By adding only an additional 30 spot and wash moving heads the design options were infinitesimal, the rig appeared to be much larger than it was and saved on load-in time.”
When Tellos and programmer/operator Tom Thayer were ready to program, they found themselves faced with unlimited choices about where to project and when.
“With so many choices we found it exciting to design and program up to 75 songs. Even the following day during rehearsals when we didn’t quite agree on what we cued in the wee hours of the morning, changing the cue was a snap. Grab the fixture, move it around, throw in a new image, and bam! A new cue, a new look! If an image is not right for the moment, simply use the DL1s as a spectacular moving head.”
The production was going into extended runs in two Greek venues: the Fix Theatre in Thessaloniki from Dec. 22, 2004 to Feb. 27, 2005, and would have to quickly be moved to the Cine Keramikos Theatre in Athens for shows from March 3 to April 24. The same basic looks had to transfer to the new venues.
“Again, the DL1s made this even easier than imagined,” Tellos notes. “Since no two venues are alike we only needed to update the position parameters to fit the new rigging points of the flown discs and other projection surfaces. Of course, then any cue programmed with these positions was automatically updated leaving more time to create new looks for added songs and most importantly saving production time -- which always translates into money. Actually, with only two days to load-in the show in Athens we didn’t have time anyway, so the DL1s saved our butts.”
Tellos gives special mention to key players involved in the production.
“The rental company in Greece, Ipsilon Live, was very supportive and attentive to the project. Vangelis Ziakas, High End's regional representative, was always available for support and educational information, which is probably the most important factor in dealing with state-of-the art technology. Special thanks to High End’s Tim Grivas for his useful advice. Considering all of these factors we are sure that we made the right choice in choosing the DL1s with the Catalyst system controlled by the Wholehog 3.”
Media Contact:
Debi Moen, HES marketing communications specialist, phone 512-836-2242 x 1204. Read More at http://www.lightingdesign.gr  |
