Rapper Pitbull hit the road recently with his “Bad Man” tour in the U.S.
which featured a production design by Gabriel Fraboni and Michael Smalley of
creative practice Twin Design, complete with 46 x Robe BMFL Spots on the rig which
were the main profile fixtures.
Twin Designs has worked with the artist for two years, although this was
the first full production design they had essentially created specifically for
Pitbull, as the previous tour had been a co-headliner with Enrique Iglesias.
Their brief included creating all the playback video content as well as
designing the lighting and video systems and the set. Having control over all
these visual elements enabled them to create a streamlined and harmonious show
which Michael operated and directed on the road.
Having worked with Pitbull for two years, they had a good idea of the
style and aesthetics he and his team like. Taking this as a starting point,
they added their own ideas and imagination also taking suggestions from key
individuals on the tour including production manager Max Kernich.
“They are a fantastic team to work with and really trust us as designers
which is fantastic,” commented Michael.
The BMFL Spots were located on a series of V-shaped trusses flown over
the stage, with eight in a line upstage on the deck adding a powerful aerial
presence. The V trusses were designed to
bring a multi-layered diamond shaped architecture to the performance space, and
they also provided a neat and practical solution to combine the lighting and
video hardware together.
Video is a key aspect of Pitbull’s live shows and reinforces many of his
raw and edgy narratives, so any lighting used had to be effective against the three
large sections of Winvision LED surface upstage.
That was one of the reasons for picking BMFL – they needed a lightsource
with serious attitude!
Gabriel and Michael were introduced to BMFLs by Greg Ellis who works
with innovative electronic artist Pretty Lights, when they and Twin Design
client Bassnectar collaborated on a ‘Bass Light” show with Michael operating.
Greg was extremely enthusiastic about the BMFLs and Gabe and Michael
have been using them ever since so they are now well acquainted with the
brightness and quality.
For the Pitbull tour, the BMFL Spots were the workhorse lights of the
show, where big, boisterous beam looks and stunning in-the-face aerial gobo
scenes created major impact, making bold statements and accents in a lively
blend of raw and rhythmic lighting.
“Using BMFLs against that Winvision screen gave us immense power,”
explained Michael, adding that they were also used very effectively for
specials on the dancers.
‘It’s a really versatile fixture – fast, bright, the gobos are real
tight and the overall quality of the light coming out is excellent,” said Gabe.
Michael mentioned that the reliability has been impressive, always an
important factor for a touring show. “They are punchy, crisp and the speed on
the zoom is outstanding,” he concluded.
The BMFLS were supplied by the tour’s lighting and video vendor, VER.
Lighting crew chief Joe Gonzales was
joined by Shawn Gallen who looked after FOH and technicians Sam Raphael, Dan
Rodriguez, with Mikey Brancato on dimmers.
http://www.robe.cz
Photos : @aLiveCoverage
