With more than 40 million
records sold worldwide, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee trio of Rush
first hit the music scene in the early 1970s and is one of the most iconic rock
bands today. As they prepared to launch their latest tour, longtime tour
lighting designer Howard Ungerleider of Production Design International Toronto
(www.pdifx.com) was once again charged with creating the lighting spectacle
that would be seen by the multitude of sold-out houses. After a collaborative
process with the production team, Ungerleider turned to Solotech to provide him
with the innovative lighting technology to best accentuate the R40 Live tour
which included VL4000 BeamWash,VL4000 Spot, VL3500 Wash FX and VL3500 Spot luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite.
“Our designs always begin with a full production
team collaboration and brainstorming session,” began Ungerleider. “For this
particular tour, an evolution concept was conceived about going back in time
and deconstructing Rush from their earliest beginnings to present day. With our
concept in mind we then turned to Solotech to be our tour provider for lighting
and video along with their sister-company 4U2C. Once the backbone was all in
play, I started putting my lighting design in place which would be filled
primarily by VL4000 Spot and VL4000 BeamWash luminaires.”
Having worked with Rush for over 40 years
through 26 tours, Ungerleider knew exactly the type of design that both the
band and their passionate fans would want to see. So as he started to look at
the automated luminaires to use in the design, he got an intriguing tip that
would put in motion the solidification of his Vari-Lite rig.
“I really like to use saturated colors in
concert lighting and because of this my programmer Tim Grivas told me I needed
to take a look at the new Vari-Lite Series 4000 fixtures,” explained
Ungerleider. “Open to the idea of looking at them for this tour, I went to LDI
and saw a demo of the fixtures for myself. When I got to see the VL4000
BeamWash and VL4000 Spot, my decision became a no-brainer. These fixtures are
truly fantastic because they are multi-faceted and I love their saturated
color.”
Both the VL4000 BeamWash
and VL4000 Spot luminaires utilize the patented Infinity Color Mixing System to
provide incredibly smooth color changes and instantaneous color snaps. The
luminaires also feature dual five-position fixed color wheels with variable
color correction to further add to their unique color abilities.
He continued, “To me, the Series 4000 fixtures
have the best color I’ve seen since the early days of Vari-Lite going back to
the VL2C which I really loved. I also enjoy the split colors that I can get out
of them, and that the color blending is smooth and vivid. I’m very happy that I
gave these fixtures a chance on the Rush R40 Live tour because they have
allowed me to create an unbelievable lighting design.”
Without the need to change lenses, the VL4000
BeamWash combines stunning wash capabilities with intense beam functionality
and the ability to produce a powerful collimated shaft of light. Producing
43,000 lumens in Standard mode and 35,000 lumens in Studio mode, the VL4000
BeamWash uses a 1200W lamp to provide incredible point-of-source imagery
through its 10 inch
front lens. When used in Wash mode, the VL4000 BeamWash provides a 10 to 60
degree zoom range. By simply adjusting a DMX value, the luminaire can shift to
an intense Beam fixture with an amazing 4 to 40 degree beam angle, or a Shaft
fixture for a powerful, collimated ray of light where the 4 degree beam angle
can be further reduced to near zero. The luminaire also contains unbelievably
smooth dimming flags which when combined with independent shutter blades
deliver unmatched dimming and strobing abilities.
“I’m using the VL4000 BeamWash luminaires in the
upstage truss for their high impact going in and out of all three modes
throughout the entire show,” added Ungerleider. “I also use their animation
wheel along with everything else they have inside and they look incredible.”
The 1200W VL4000 Spot
luminaire boasts 33,000 lumens of output in Standard mode and 25,000 lumens in
Studio mode. Its high resolution optics ensure remarkable center-to-edge
focusing and an unprecedented contrast ratio while a 5:1 zoom covers an amazing
9 to 47 degrees without sacrificing output or clarity. Along with mechanical
iris, the beam of the VL4000 Spot can be further modified via the precise
four-blade shutter system, independent prism with divergence control, and the
variable frost. The luminaire also features dual rotating gobo wheels and dual
animation wheels to provide dynamic motion effects.
“With the VL4000 Spots, I have a few of them
placed in the upstage truss, but then I also have them on automated pods
designed to fly over the stage on 5-foot truss pieces. From these positions,
the lights give me a ton of options with a lot of versatility and tremendous
power.”
To complete his design, Ungerleider chose even
more Vari-Lite fixtures with the addition of the wildly popular VL3500 Wash FX
luminaires and the industry-standard VL3500 Spot luminaires.
“I am using the VL3500 Wash FX fixtures in the
air as key lighting because I love their ability to color correct. Then I’m
using the VL3500 Spots on the floor for their gobo projections from behind the
amp line to give us a variation of looks with a lot of silhouettes that
continue out into the audience.”
As one of the most
celebrated tours in the illustrious history of Rush, the R40 Live tour had its
final North American show at The Forum in Los Angeles. Looking back on the
performance of the Series 4000 fixtures, Ungerleider is quick to recognize that
the VL4000 BeamWash and VL4000 Spot luminaires are something quite unique from
Philips Vari-Lite.
“I think the most attractive attribute of the
Series 4000 fixtures is a combination of their power and color,” concluded
Ungerleider. “The color coming out of the VL4000 BeamWash and VL4000 Spot is
superior to anything that’s been released in the last decade, and their sheer
power is amazing. The crispness of their beams is refreshing and lighting
designers should give them a look because it’s a new paradigm for Philips
Vari-Lite to release fixtures of this nature. This tour was pretty much an all
Vari-Lite rig and these lights exceeded all my expectations.”
