Production and Lighting Designer, Blessing Bero, was still sourcing gear just two days before load-in due to circumstances beyond his control for Zimbabwe-born gospel worshipper Eleana Makombe’s Grateful Concert in June.
Bero, who is a Zimbabwean based lighting designer with Events Evolution, responded to this pressure-packed situation with calm. Working his industry contacts, he was hooked up with SJ Grevett of DMX Productions.
“DMX Productions did an amazing job under pressure,” said Bero. “Their people were extremely helpful, as was the crew at the convention centre. We had a great technical support from the in-house technician. In the end, we had a production that all of us could take pride in”
The rig provided by DMX Productions had over 40 CHAUVET Professional fixtures, including 10 Rogue R3 Beams, 12 Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWashes, five COLORado PXL 16 motorized battens, 12 STRIKE Array 2C blinders, and four Ovation E-910FC colour rendering ellipsoidals.
Bero and his colleague technical project manager Tatenda Gaylord Rushwaya, along with the rest of their Events Evolution team used this rig to create a flow of engaging looks that supported Makombe and the 10 guests who joined her on stage in a rousing uplifting performance.
The production featured a dynamic array of aerial effects that played off against the horizontally oriented video wall. Bero added variety to his by lighting by changing the direction of his interlocking beam patterns.
For the LED video wall, Bero collaborated with his colleague Rushwaya. They reshuffled the apparent configuration of the video wall, blacking out its center, so at times it looked like two distinct walls, instead of one. The images displayed on the wall were as varied as the lighting.
Bero also reflected the shifting emotional dynamics of the music, by calling forth a rainbow of colours, he also relied on the variety of geometric patterns to add depth to his show. This was the case in one of Bero’s favourite looks when the halo ring from the Rogue Outcast BeamWash played off against the red shift from the STRIKE Array 2. “I never got tired of this look during changes overs,” said Bero “It created a nice smooth transition.”
