Superhero and comic book lovers of all sorts met June 5-8 at Phoenix
Comicon, a comic book and multigenre entertainment convention held annually in
Phoenix, Arizona. Event production company Endless Entertainment used a bevy of
Elation equipment to light the general session room, hotel ballrooms and other
rooms for parties, interactive events, contests and after-hours events.
Endless Entertainment
Phoenix
Comicon, which takes place at the Phoenix Convention Center, started as more of a comic book and science fiction/fantasy convention but has
expanded over the years to include a larger range of pop culture elements with many events taking place at downtown
hotels. The event is growing each year with the 2014 convention setting an
attendance record.
Endless
Entertainment was Phoenix Comicon\’s partner in all audiovisual and
entertainment services for the entire event with Endless Entertainment’s Will Curran, Eileen Wells
and Andrew Latimer handling lighting and show design for the event.
“We create experiences for our clients and use Elation lighting to help
make our vision a reality,” states Will Curran, President of Endless Entertainment. “It’s our goal to create an engaging
and memorable experience for everyone involved, both the client and the
attendees. This year we upped the ante a bit and took the vision to the next
level.” This year’s Phoenix Comicon was Endless Entertainment’s second running,
and their second using Elation gear, which they supply from their own in-house
stock.
General Session Room
The
convention’s 4000-seat general session room is where the superstars of the Phoenix
Comicon world are featured. This year the room played host to celebrity comic
panels that included comic book legend Stan Lee (Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron
Man, X-Men), Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Julie Newmar (Catwoman), actors
Bruce Campbell and Danny Glover, and more. The room included a 50’ x 24’ stage
and a rigged truss structure with an array of spots, beams, Pars, lekos with
custom gobos, and more.
“Here we used Elation Opti Tri Pars to up- and downlight a backdrop of
off-white, two-foot wide square tiles that produced the Pow! that made it
undeniably our stage look,” Curran says, explaining that the lighting was often
used to match what the author or guest speaker was reading or presenting. “Comic
books is a genre that lends itself to lots of color and the Opti Par’s ability
to color match and duplicate the color spectrum is excellent. Purple is a
particularly hard color to get but the Opti Par does it well. The 12 fixtures
provided ample coverage of the 50’ wide by 16’ tall backdrop and enabled a
variety of colors and fades to be utilized to keep a fresh touch for each panel
and presentation. Our team was able to create a stunning visual backdrop – a
fitting touch for the level of talent that could be found in the room.”
Sheraton Hotel, Valley of the Sun
Ballroom
The Sheraton Hotel’s Valley of the Sun Ballroom in downtown Phoenix hosted
a variety of events and parties, including the popular Doctor Who-themed ‘Party
Like a Time Lord’ fest, the Geek Prom, and the Zombie Beauty Pageant, all of which
were lit with Elation Opti Tri Pars and Platinum Spot 15R Pro moving heads.
The first night of the convention featured the Zombie Beauty Pageant, where
spirits of the dead paraded down a 40’ runway that extended from the stage. Endless
Entertainment had some concerns about the ability to fully cover the runway
considering there was neither the budget nor the space to set a front-wash rig.
“The Platinum Spot 15R Pro’s color correction and wide zoom features allowed us
to get an even side-wash all the way across the runway and on the stage,”
Endless Entertainment’s Andrew Latimer states. “Additionally, we were able to
close the zoom up tight on the runway and utilize the Opti Tri Pars for color,
as well as our video engineer utilizing Modul8 visuals, to embrace the Zombie
theme for each pageant contestant during the talent portion and create a
post-apocalyptic feel. Although we were limited to only utilizing side-light as
the stage wash, the Elation equipment exceeded our visions (and even pre-vis
renderings!).
“Throughout the entirety of Phoenix Comicon, we were incredibly happy
with the ability of the Opti Tri Pars and Platinum Spot 15R Pros to create an
even, smooth, and warm stage wash during the breakout panels and spotlight
sessions, and then immediately afterwards run full-out for 4 straight hours in
a party environment.”
The built-in wireless EWDMX feature on the Platinum Spot 15R Pro was very
helpful as it allowed Endless Entertainment’s lighting engineer to be in an FOH
position (typically not possible due to restrictions on cables and cable ramps
in walkways/doorways) and saved at least an hour on setup time versus having to
run cable to each individual fixture. “We were able to drop a single line down
each truss totem from the Platinum 15Rs to the ADJ Flat Par QWH12X fixtures and
Opti Tri Pars. It performed flawlessly
throughout the weekend with not so much as a single data hiccup,” Latimer states.
Renaissance Hotel, Grand Ballroom
The Renaissance Hotel’s Grand Ballroom was the signature party room
throughout Phoenix Comicon and featured a near non-stop run of entertainers,
DJs, and theme parties such as the Minecraft Block Party, One Man Star Wars
Trilogy, and Steampunk Ball. Here Endless Entertainment used Elation Opti Tri
Pars, and Platinum Spot 5R Pro and Platinum Beam 5R Pro moving heads to create
the energy of a club atmosphere that made attendees forget they were in a
ballroom.
“As with the Sheraton Ballroom, we found the Platinum series to be
incredibly versatile beyond what we would typically expect from a moving
fixture at this price point,” Latimer comments. “We expect the Elation products
to perform well for the theme parties, as they have an immense feature set both
on the movers and on the Opti Tri pars that gives us a wide palette of beam and
color effects to match every busking situation. What surprised us all though was
the excellent performance of the Platinum Spot 5R Pro fixtures and Opti Tri Pars
at creating truly theatrical-quality wash both on stage and in the center of
the truss structure out over the crowd.”
Because of the nature of Phoenix Comicon, Endless Entertainment doesn’t
get the chance to advance every single performance with the respective
entertainers, so their goal is to come up with a flexible, creative, and
stunning setup that can handle anything they throw at it. “Even then, we did not expect to have a Steampunk
performance troupe set up their props in the center of the dance floor under
the truss structure,” Latimer explains. “However, with just a couple minutes of
programming we were able to achieve a truly stunning look for this set out in
the audience space, and then immediately hit the existing stage-wash cue and go
right back to the performers on stage without a moments delay.”
Again, the wireless EWDMX saved at least an hour on setup in the Grand
Ballroom and allowed the truss to have a very clean appearance. “All 16 moving
heads synced quickly and performed throughout the weekend admirably without a
single data issue,” Latimer said. “We were able to take the DMX out straight
into the Opti Tri Pars and the other LED fixtures, negating the need to have
DMX cables running across the dance floor up to the truss.”
Renaissance Hotel, Pueblo Room
The Renaissance’s mid-size Pueblo Room featured karaoke, bands, and
other live performers while serving as a more relaxed and intimate party room. Here
Elation Opti Tri Pars running on set colors and sound-active mode were used for
events like the Captain’s Cantina, One Night Only Rhythm & Blues Cosplay
Mixer, and more. Two crew members from Endless Entertainment were able to set
up 8 Opti Tri Pars in the room and get a desired rich red color in a matter of
minutes for the first night, and then subsequently perform occasional changes
as the events needed. “The simple addition of these 8 LED fixtures transformed
the room from a sterile fluorescent white ballroom with no windows or other
remarkable features into a glowing nightclub feel without taking up valuable time
from the stagehands on site,” Latimer says.
Sheraton Hotel, Oculus Lounge
Finally, at the Browncoat’s Jamboree at the Sheraton Oculus Lounge, Elation
Opti Tri Pars demonstrated their ease of use and reliability via a quick set up
and flawless operation in 100-degree heat. The Oculus Lounge is an outdoor
patio that looks out onto downtown Phoenix and the Phoenix Convention Center
from the second floor of the Sheraton Hotel. Its major feature is a large
oculus in the ceiling that gazes up to the night sky. Opti Tri Pars were able
to wash the patio in rich tones while accenting the oculus and drawing attention
to this uniquely aesthetic feature of the space.
