This year's Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour is the biggest it's ever been. Two identical shows are touring the East and West Coast US, each carrying 13 truckloads of production. Included in the total equipment package are 30 HES SHOWGUN automated luminaires and 4 Wholehog 3 consoles for both tours, supplied by Q1 of Canada.
Production/lighting designer Bryan Hartley is also touring for his eighth year as the LD on the East Coast leg. Lighting Director Dan Cassar, now in his fifth year, handles the West Coast run. Both tours started Nov. 1.
Hartley likes to design in new products with each new production. This is the year for SHOWGUN to shine. “I love them, they’re awesome. It’s a good quality moving light but 3 times as big,” Hartley says. “There’s nothing else like it out there.”
The rig features 10 moving pods, with a SHOWGUN positioned in the middle of each pod as its centerpiece. Another four SHOWGUNs hang on audience trusses over the Front of House area. The SHOWGUNs’ main purpose is for keylighting.
When Hartley first saw SHOWGUN in a demo at the HES Los Angeles office, he knew it would be in this show, he says. “I love its color mixing, strobing, lighter weight, LED ring, brightness and solid beam – plus it plugs in just like a normal moving light.”
He continues, “We have so many LED products on this show, so the SHOWGUN with its recognizable LED ring fits right in and looks great. This is a heavy metal show, so rather than do the multi-colored Christmas thing I’m using all solid colors. I love the solid beam of SHOWGUN. I use the strobe, too – and I flash the LEDs red and blue.”
Wholehog 3 is now his console of choice. He’s used the Wholehog 3 on tour with Motley Crue, Supernova, Marilyn Manson and Velvet Revolver.
Prior to that he was contracted with another console manufacturer to use their products. So when he was free to pick up Hog products again, he started using a Hog iPC console, which runs on either Hog 2 or Hog 3 software. “I started using it in Hog 2 mode, which was cool because I was used to that, but then one day I switched it into Hog 3 mode and it worked well. I used the Hog iPC in Hog 3 mode on Nine Inch Nails. That transition on one console made it an easier step to move to the Wholehog 3 console itself.”
“I’ve been using Wholehog 3 software for over a year now and it’s all good,” Hartley says. “The ease of operation all makes sense. It’s got the speed that I need to do whatever I need to do and it runs beautifully. All the software issues are worked out now. It still has the Hog 2 feel and the vibe of the Hog. Nice touch screens, and you don’t have to constantly save to disks every couple of minutes. Hog 3 software automatically saves for you. Also I use the ‘copy and paste’ function a lot. On this tour it’s really helpful because I have to duplicate the show onto two consoles so it saves me a lot of time.”
It’s a big show. The Wholehog 3 console is not only controlling a lot of lights and LED products, it’s also triggering the laser show. High End Systems’ Brad Schiller helped out during rehearsals, setting up the Wholehog software that sends MIDI commands to the laser controller to fire off those cues in the show.
“I appreciate Brad Schiller’s support; it makes a big difference. I plan on using Hogs for a number of years. I’m very happy with it.”
With that, Hartley is already thinking about next year’s design. “About 3-4 times a year, I meet with John Lunio, crew chief for the West Coast tour, to look at the design, which I usually start before the current tour is over while I’m on the road. It’s a brand new design every year and we always add more each year. Every year is the biggest.”
The shows run through the holidays until Jan. 6, 2008.
Media contact:
Debi Moen, HES marketing communications specialist, phone 512-836-2242 x 1204.
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