UK Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge, is the mastermind
behind the lighting design of one of the biggest stadium-touring shows in 2016;
Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour. After playing six concert in five venues, the
UK leg of the tour concluded in Glasgow’s Hampden Park before moving on to
Ireland and mainland Europe.
After a ‘Summer Shootout’ held in London, using SGM units at
Carfest and The White Rose at London\’s O2 Arena, Tim literally saw
the light in SGM’s fixtures and consequently specified 602 Q-7s and 22 G-Spots
for his design for the upcoming Formation World Tour. Tim explained:
“This fixture was my immediate choice
for this tour. I needed a bright color-changing source that would make a huge
impact and – most importantly – would be weatherproof.”
In collaboration with Production Designer, Es Devlin, and Lighting
Director, Jonathan Rouse, Tim designed what they call a ‘Strobe Horizon’, with
the 602 Q-7s forming a curved structure that surrounds a massive, monolithic
LED cube in the center of the stage. Tim said: “We all agreed that rectangular fixtures rather than circular sources
would be ideal for this production, and would match the expression of the LED
video monolith. So the Q-7 was the obvious choice.”
As rehearsals were rapidly approaching, and Tim needed to source
enough Q-7 fixtures for the design, tension rose. In collaboration with Neg Earth, SGM made it happen.
According to Tim: “SGM were superb in
their support of me on this show and worked closely with Neg Earth to achieve
what I needed and to ensure that all the units color-matched.”
The large-quantity order of Q-7s had SGM’s production facilities
working round the clock for several weeks. The shipment was delivered to Rock
Lititz in Pennsylvania in time for the rehearsals which took place during first
weeks of April. Peter Johansen, SGM CEO, said: “Even though Tim was cutting it fine, we set sails to deliver. At SGM
we like to go above and beyond to make sure we provide the lighting community
with the right tools for the job – even at the last minute. Seeing how Tim has
brought our Q-7s to life on the shows makes it all worth it. Well done, Tim!”
The 22 G-Spots are used both on the B-stage and on the floor of
the main stage. Eight of them are placed on each side of the water basin to
crosslight the B stage. Since kicking off, the outdoor tour has been exposed to
the elements – particularly heavy rains. During the first leg of the tour the
crew struggled with regular torrential downpours that eventually led to
equipment breakdowns. Nick Barton, Crew Chief, said about the SGM fixtures: ”It’s nice not having to worry about them
when it’s bucketing down with rain.”
Jonathan added: “The
Q7s have been rock solid, delivering fantastic vivid looks in the fiercest of
weathers. Whether it\’s been blazing sun or snow their uniform colors have shone
through day after day. We use a truly wide pallette on the Beyoncé tour, from
soft pastels to the hardest reds and bright whites. They\’ve delivered
everything and there\’s never been a color we couldn\’t achieve.”
To sum up the experience with SGM and SGM fixtures, Tim
concluded: “If ever there was a
perfect product for the job, it was these.”
