Lighting Designer Yenz Nyholm took to the O2 Arena, London, UK, with a Diamond 4 TITAN for much loved pop-rock band, Level 42's 30th Anniversary world tour.
Nyholm has been a keen Avolites user for some years and he particularly likes the power and functionality of the D4 for larger shows.
For this tour he was also lucky to be one of the first to try TITAN V4, the latest software due for official release in the new year. Having now used the TITAN D4 on over 60 shows, it's proved to be "Very reliable," he states.
Lighting equipment for the UK tour was supplied by High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire based rental company Siyan.
The tour's lighting design was based around 3 large and striking backdrops - a central cloth and 2 legs - featuring artwork from all the band's record sleeves since 1980.
The general vibe on stage was that of a big celebratory party atmosphere with lots of energy, colour and big bold lighting looks; together with a few moody dramatic moments for contrast and reflection. "It was a show with massive dynamics," says Nyholm.
There was a basic flown front and back truss with 14 x SGM Giotto 400 Spots, 9 x Giotto 400 Washes, 8 GLP Impression LED wash lights, 4 Martin Professional Atomic strobes plus 2 and 4-lite Moles.
On the floor were 6 bars of ACLs, assorted PARs and Moles, and the back cloth and legs were illuminated with 12 SGM Palco LED washes. All of which was controlled via the D4 TITAN.
Nyholm revealed how he loves the faders on the console, and the fact that everything is right there and instantly accessible at your fingertips, without having to trawl through numerous sub-menus.
Being able to assign timings to all the fixture attributes is "Great" he says, and creating elements like fanning effects is extremely quick and simple on the D4 TITAN.
Fixture Exchange also came into its own, specifically during the German leg of the festival section of tour, and when they went into smaller clubs and venues and were hooking into the house rigs.
Another feature he utilises extensively is the D4 offline editor, which runs on his PC at home using a Capture visualiser. He did all the pre-programming for the Level 42 tour on this as there were no production rehearsals. So when he arrived, all he had to do was update his preset focuses and he was ready to rock!
The set list remained the same throughout the 7 month 30th Anniversary touring period, so he soon had it completely memorized. It was a complex show containing over 250 cues and requiring very tight operation and crucial timing, and the D4 once again proved an ideal creative tool.
Apart from the actual hardware, it's the people that make this business go round, and Nyholm comments on Avolites, "One of the best companies I have encountered. Everyone is friendly, helpful, enthusiastic, open to ideas and quick to respond to any questions".
He's now out on the road with Marillion, and more work with Level 42 is scheduled for next year.
For more press info on Avolites, please contact louise Stickland on +44 7831 329888/+44 1865 202679 or EMail [email protected]. To contact Avolites direct, please call +44 20 8965 8522 or check www.avolites.com.