Production and lighting designer Roy Bennett is using 112 Martin MAC 101â„¢ wash lights for R&B singer Rihanna's current “Loud” world tour and praises the ultra-small fixture's combination of small size and brightness as important elements in his lighting design.
“They have been great,” Bennett says, adding that the compact fixture has also been an excellent lighting fixture on Paul McCartney's latest tour, also a Roy Bennett designed show. “I love the 101s because of the size, weight and speed, as well as the light output.”
One of the hottest selling artists of all time, Rihanna embarked on the “Loud” world tour in June to promote her latest album of the same name. The tour kicked off in North America with lighting supplied by Upstaging before legs in South America and Europe.
A key scenic element in Bennett's design is four custom-made, half-sphere pods on independent motion control that adjust up and down during the show. The four custom pods were fabricated for the tour by Upstaging. “With its small size and weight, the MAC 101 is the perfect fixture for building into scenery, but still has a powerful output,” commented John Huddleston, General Manager of Lighting Services at Upstaging.
The face of each pod is made up of an LED screen with 28 MAC 101s mounted behind in four rows. The 101s are used to shoot beams and color through the screen, sometimes on their own or in combination with the video, and at only 3.7 kg (8.1 lb) is an ideal fit for the pod design.
Bennett acknowledges the support he has received from Martin US, especially from Martin Product Support Coordinator Scott O'Conner who, he says, “always keeps me informed on any and all new developments.”
The European leg of the Rihanna tour began on September 29th and extends until the end of the year. Supporting act on the Rihanna tour in Europe is singer/DJ Calvin Harris who uses a Martin EC-20â„¢ LED screen for high quality graphics in his performance. The EC-20 panels are supplied by video services company Picture Works Ltd. of London.
Photos: Todd Kaplan
Martin Professional
Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, Martin Professional is a world leader in the creation of dynamic lighting solutions for the entertainment, architectural, and commercial sectors. Martin lighting solutions are industry standard on top tours and events, grace prestigious theatres, energize nightclubs, and decorate major television studios around the globe. Other important areas of application are indoor and outdoor architecture and commercial applications where Martin products are increasingly being used to transform spaces through dynamic light. Martin also offers a range of advanced lighting controllers and media servers, as well as a complete line of smoke machines as a complement to intelligent lighting. The company operates the industry's most complete and capable distributor network with local partners in nearly 100 countries. For more information please visit www.martin.com
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