Leading UK rental company Lite Alternative has purchased 4 Novalight Nova Flower fixtures from UK distributor Lightfactor Sales, which are in action on the UK and European legs of Coldplay's acclaimed “Viva La Vida” world tour.
The Nova Flowers - a high powered fully programmable ‘flower effect' with DMX controllable pan, tilt, colour shutter, etc – are positioned upstage of the band, and used sparingly, but for some spectacular back lighting effects and aerial impact.
“I needed a hard edged gobo fixture that would cut over (output wise) a floor-based array of ten 2K moving wash lights, rigged on the same plane as the Nova Flowers” explains Normandale.
He's not used them before, but is impressed with the results and the reliability.
Mark “Sparky” Risk initially lighting directed the first legs of the tour (now taken over by Fraser Elisha), and he comments, “They create nice big aerial beams and because they move and change colour, are proving extremely dynamic” – without the need for accoutrements like shutters or colour scrollers.
Risk likes the colour cross fade on the units, adding that they have a ‘big light' effect with more scope than a traditional power/breakup unit like a Dominator. As they are used very much as moving lights on Coldplay, they also appear very different from the other fixtures to the audience. Rick echoes Normandale's comments about their robustness so far on tour.
In some numbers of the set, the Nova Flowers have their beams shooting down across the stage, closing in the space and making it more intimate for subtle moments.
Coldplay are currently touring the US with lighting provided by Illinois based Upstaging, who have also purchased 4 Nova Flowers. They hit the UK in December.
The Nova Flower is manufactured by Novalight in Italy and uses a 1200W light source, offering CMY mixing, rotating reflector (in both directions), pan/tilt and remote lamp re-strike. Nova Flower is trolley mounted for rapid rigging onto a truss, and can also be used in stand alone mode programmed via the display buttons on its base. It has a weather-resistant IP 43 rating.