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Picture This with Robe in Dublin

For Irish band Picture This’ record five sold out nights at Dublin’s 3Arena (beating U2’s four nights), production designer Liam McCarthy spec’d over 150 Robe moving lights, delivered by Irish rental company Just Lite Productions. The lighting design featured 37 x BMFL Spots, 36 x Spiiders, 46 x Pointes, 16 x LEDWash 600s and 16 x SuperSpikies.

McCarthy worked closely with the band and created some set and visual concepts based on their ideas of initially wanting a circular video screen, which was developed into two curved screens. Video content director Darragh McAuliffe and the team from content producers Algorithm were commissioned by Just Lite’s Paul Smith with input from the band. The IMAG camera mix directed by Brian Judge was also a big part of the show’s overall visuality.

The LED screen was split into two curves. The upstage one measured 15 metres by 3.6 metres high and wrapped around the back of the band, while the front one was 25 metres wide by 3.5 metres high. This started off on the floor at the top of the set, rising to trim where it sat in a ‘crown’/header position.

The curved theme continued with a circular video floor and drum riser. Both these curved screens were on a Kinesys automation system and they moved in and out at strategic points in the show. Once the final physical video configurations and screen positions were established together with the stage left and right IMAG screens and the stage wings, Liam McCarthy designed the lights around these shapes and objects.

Behind the back screen were three 18-metre-long trusses with the offstage 6 metre sections on each side angled to form a ‘linear curve’. These three trusses were stacked almost on top of each other, the bottom one 5.5 metres off the stage deck with the top one at 8 metres.

Then over the stage was a three-quarter section of a 14-metre diameter circle supporting the ‘back’ LED video screen and rigged with some audience blinders; then a 12-metre half circle rigged with the front screen. Inside all of these was a 6-metre full circle populated with 16 x Robe Pointes.

All these circles - the two video ones and the central lighting one - moved on the Kinesys system that was supplied by UK Rigging. A 12-metre front truss was split into three pods to get the best coverage over the stage space and there were six side torms in various positions for cross lighting. Some small trusses over the IMAG screen positions were used for more blinders.

The 16 x Pointes on the centre circle were joined by 12 on the back of the circular floor, and the other 18 on the three upstage trusses where they were used for some ‘light wall’ effects, among others. The Spiiders were spread between the downstage trusses for key light with 12 upstage on the floor and 18 on the back-wall trusses from where they blasted even washes across stage.

The BMFL Spots were positioned on the downstage trusses for key light, with 12 on the stage left and stage right torms and 18 on the three upstage trusses. The SuperSpikies were on the floor at the start and end of the set ego ramps, with the LEDWash 600s on the wings beneath the IMAG screens each side.

McCarthy controlled all the Robes and other lights via two Road Hog Full Boar consoles - live and backup. The biggest challenge was lighting around the various screen positions, as sometimes the screens blocked parts of the rig. When this happened, they capitalised on the LED floor to add some colour and lumens onto the band and stage.

(Photos: Terry McDonagh)

www.robe.cz

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