MILAN – The legendary Tiziano Ferro began his performance at San Siro Stadium with a heartfelt rendition of “Sono un grande,” (I Am Awesome). Fans at the sold out stadium would whole heartedly agree with that assessment as far as the star’s show was concerned. So too would those who packed every other venue of the multi-Grammy winners 10-city Italian summer tour.
Reaching deep into his heart and life experience, 'Tiziano Ferro enthralled crowds as he performed beautifully balanced, evocative songs in Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. His show retraced 25 years of great music, closely intertwined with the artist's intense relationship with his audience.
Providing a visually rich visual backdrop that matched the depth of the artist’s performance was a beautifully textured lighting design by Giovanni Pinna that integrated closely with the Comix created video content that was displayed on a 1,000 square meter screen.
Pinna worked closely with creative director/stage designer Gio Forma, video director Cristian Biondani, associate LD Marco De Nardi and programmer Marco Zucchinali, to collaborate on a show that flowed seamlessly with Tiziano Ferro’s music and dynamic stage presence. Critical to this creative fusion was a collection of 26 Maverick Storm 3 BeamWash moving heads and 55 Color STRIKE M motorized strobe washes from CHAUVET Professional, imported by Zalight and serviced by Agora.
Discussing how the concept of the show came together, Pinna said: “The content and all interactions with the LED walls were meticulously crafted and carefully planned from the start. Thanks to our direct contact with Comix, the English company that created all the content, we already had a clear vision of the work they were preparing six months in advance. With this in mind, we reviewed the content for each song, but above all, we worked on the interaction between content, automation, and lighting.”
The lighting setup featured five 10-meter-long in-line truss systems, all automated, arranged across the entire width of the stage. The fixtures on this truss continuously interacted with the LED wall content. For many songs, automation was used to frame the content, creating a multitude of different looks and video matrices. This dynamically defined new spaces and greatly accentuated the interaction between content, lighting, and automated truss systems.
“The video component of Stadi 26 wasn't that invasive,” said Pinna. “Of course, we're talking about a huge screen, but it was used with great care and also very well calibrated, leaving a lot of space for the lights compared to many other situations in which you have such a large LED wall as a backdrop; so, I absolutely can't complain; in fact, the result in many cases was exceptionally good, both in terms of balance and light output.
“In this balance between LED walls and lights, the Maverick Storm 3 BeamWash and Color STRIKE M were fundamental,” he continued. “The Mavericks did a tremendous job. I dedicated them mainly to lighting the choreography, which was one of the central motifs of the show -- keep in mind that there were 10 dancers on stage, and more than half the show was choreographed. I used 18 Mavericks alternating on the front of the stage for backlighting, and another eight, always on the ground, for the dance floor area: 3 + 3 external and 2 + 2 internal. They were almost always dedicated to the choreography, with cuts to Tiziano and the dancers; used constantly.”
Pinna used the Maverick fixtures for audience lighting in addition to accenting the dance routines, explaining that he called on them in situations where he needs “ high-quality colors,” and a zoom wide enough to guarantee widespread coverage of the stage and the catwalk. “In short, I used them in their essence as washes – color and power – and they really gave me a lot,” he declared.
Already familiar with the Color STRIKE M through his work designing for Vasco Rossi, Pinna praised their performance. “The Color STRIKE Ms were another key piece of the show,” he said. “They covered the entire width of the stage and always worked at 100-percent. They were the real 'hard core' for illuminating the audience. Beyond that, they did a lot of 'graphic' work, both in effects and color, with an extremely strong impact on the show.”
A strong impact? Yes indeed, the show had that and much more, providing fans with an experience they will remember for a very long time. In the words of one music critic in Bologna, “it was a night filled with music and emotion alongside one of the most beloved Italian artists,” accompanied we would add by a stunning lighting and video production.
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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