USA – A straight line. The term itself embodies uncomplicated precision and directness… at least in theory. But in reality, a simple straight line can open the way to multiple creative paths. Ed Warren’s breathtaking lighting Four Tet’s USA warehouse tour offers wonderous proof of that.
Warren is abundantly clear about the foundation of his design. “I have a long straight line of lights down the center of the room – they are the show,” he said. “The entire show is built around them. I use them to create curves, shapes movements of light that most people might not have seen before, to complement the music.”
Fans who’ve seen Four Tet’s recent USA warehouse tour would wholeheartedly agree. Collaborating closely with his client, Warren has conjured up a dynamic design featuring flowing geometric configurations that transform the entire room, altering the sense of space within its walls and pulling everyone on the dancefloor into the all-embracive mood of Four Tet’s sound.
At the heart of it all is a long straight line of CHAUVET Professional COLORado PXL Curve 12 motorized battens. The length of that line varies depending on the venue: 65 units at Brooklyn Storehouse, supplied by Tag Live; 32 at Mission Ballroom in Denver from Brown Note Productions; and 138 at San Francisco’s Portola Festival, from Felix Lighting.
Although the size of the rig may differ, the design concept behind each show and its immersive effect remained consistent throughout the tour. “This design is a development from the Alexandra Palace shows we did last year,” said Warren, who programmed the shows on his ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M console. “Kieran (AKA Four Tet) chose these shows and venues because they would suit our design, as each features a long slightly narrow room which can house enough people.”
“One of the unexpected positives of this show was that it worked very well in short and long formats,” continued Warren. “It’s all relative to the dancefloors. If they’re covered, then we have our show. Mission Ballroom had a 28 meter long stick over its dancefloor which was as long as we were permitted. Brooklyn had 61 meters, Portola 138. These were all based off the dancefloor sizes. It’s basically exactly the same show file/programming for each room.”
Helping Warren keep his long line of fixtures straight was his ChamSys MagicQ Remote. “I used it to wander down the line without having to drag my desk everywhere with me,” he remarked.
Working with his Production Manager, Josh Rahalski, Warren adjusted his fixtures brilliantly, as their sweeping movement carved up space in intriguing ways. Among the more dramatic was when his line of overhead light seemed to split the room as it radiated from the center.
“It wasn’t really a conscious decision to do that; I just played around with the lights until they did something cool, then saved it in the programming,” Warren said of that particular look. “I loved starting with a thin sheet of light right down the center of the room, then slowly tilting it as one slowly increasing in size and speed, as it morphs into a sine wave.”
Before anyone knew it, that wave enveloped the audience in light until they all were invited into the moment of Four Tet’s performance… and it all began with a straight line.
