MONTREAL -- As a designer, Marc-Antoine Pelletier always strives to reflect his clients’ music in light. But the Quebecois designer is taking things a step further on the current tour by the Juno-nominated multi-instrumentalist Damien Robitaille. Lighting is not only supporting the music on stage; it’s also often the subject of the songs themselves.
“The design process for this tour started with the release of the album, ‘Ultraviolet,’” explained Pelletier. “In addition to being named after a color, this pop-dance oriented album talks a lot about lighting. So, I wanted to have a show where the audience can feel the energy on stage from not just the band, but also the lighting.”
With this in mind, Pelletier created a design that wraps Robitaille and the band in lighting from customized LED strips, and CHAUVET Professional COLORado 2 Solo fixtures, both from Viviane Giguère and the team at Softbox. Moving from high energy peaks to minimalistic moments, the lighting changes the dynamics of the stage to match the music, while always maintaining an intimate connection to the artist, as if it too were part of his music.
“The lighting design is not there to flash and impress,” said Pelletier. “It’s there to enhance the emotions of the different songs -- and place Damien in the center of his musical universe. It also allows the crowd to really listen to the lyrics without being disturbed by the light show. The show is built and programmed to fit all types of crowds. It’s also easy to scale up or down to fit in different types of venues.”
Given that the album/tour is Ultraviolet, Pelletier focuses his color palette around violets and pale blue, generally limiting himself to no more than two colors at the same time. A notable exception was when the show focused on Robitaille’s time in Spain. At those moments, the stage is covered by a broader array of hues that suggest the Iberian coastline.
Adding an extra dimension to the stage are the rotating gobos from the COLORado fixtures. “We use gobos to reflect a lot of different moods, from slow and atmospheric to high-beat songs with faster rotations, ” said Pelletier. “I also use gobos when I light the audience. This allows me to dim down the light beam and creates a beautiful, immersive look for the crowd. There is a song (Limousine) during the show where the gobos represent the rays from the sun, which is a very nice effect.”
Pelletier relies on his 18 COLORado 2 Solos (12 overhead and six on sides), along with 10 COLORado 2 Quad Zoom fixtures to achieve his all-embracing vision for this design. “The Solo fixtures on the side are critical to killing the unwanted 2D look,” he said. “As for the 2 Quad Zooms, they are placed on the floor and their great output allows me to use them during some of the songs to create shadows of the band.”
At times, Pelletier relied on the six COLORado 2 Quad Zooms placed in front of the risers to isolate Robitaille and hide the band for solos. “By placing the musicians behind, I am able to play with the 2 Quad Zooms to make them appear and disappear,” said Pelletier, who reemphasized that he wants his client to be the center of attention… a center surrounded by a sea of light that runs through his dynamic music.
About CHAUVET Professional
CHAUVET Professional offers innovative professional lighting fixtures for the production and touring market as well as permanent installation in theaters, hospitality venues, cruise ships, clubs, television and architainment applications. For more information, please visit www.chauvetprofessional.com
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