The new i-Pix BB7 wide angle fixtures made their touring debut on the Doves recent UK tour, with a lighting design by Chris Bushell. These offer a 20 degree angle dispersion enabling an even wider and more comprehensive wash effect than the standard 10 degree version.
Bushell has used BB7s before on both Amy Winehouse and The Hoosiers, and is a big fan of the i-Pix brand, however Doves also gave him the chance to use i-Pix' BB4s 4-lites for the first time.
The six BB7s were attached to the top of custom VersaTUBE racks running along the back of the stage, just downstage of a white cyc. They were an important element of a heavily backlit show.
Bushell comments, "Their retro appearance fits perfectly with the band's style and visual requirements ... And with the LED lightsource, this was exactly the right combination". The band take an active interest in the lighting, and Bushell used the BB7s for strong, dramatic, colourful back light washes.
The BB4s were positioned on the floor. One unit back-lit each band member, and two either side of stage on the floor provided powerful cross stage washes. The fixtures proved themselves ideal for richly saturated low level washes and silhouetting.
Bushell likes the homogenisation and smooth light output of the BBs, and controlled all the cells in each unit individually via the Avolites Diamond 4 Elite console used to run the show. This gave him the option of building some complex and intricate movement and colour chases.
"They are extremely punchy and colours like the blue and purple range are fantastic,” he enthuses.
The majority of the rig was concentrated at low level and was full of interesting shapes and some more unusual fixtures like Skypans and VersaTUBES, with the band encased right in the middle of this visual world.
All lighting kit for the tour was being supplied by PRG, and Bushell worked alongside crew-mates Daniel Bocking and Jake Sullivan.
i-Pix BBs continue to be specified by a growing number of lighting designers and are currently on the road with the Prodigy (LD Andy Hurst), Bloc Party (LD Leggy), Oasis (LD Rob Gawler) and many others.