On The End of the Movie tour, Lizzy McAlpine used a set that was designed around her actual living room space with the help of CHAUVET Professional.
“All the items in the room were chosen by Lizzy, and were very specific to her inspiration and interests,” said Kat Borderud, the tour’s Lighting and Scenic designer. Borderud intensified the effect of this living room set by accentuating its various elements with light and shadows.” Bordered continued: “Darkness and shadow play are incorporated in this design for bringing the room to life as another character in Lizzy’s show. Shadows and light move and reflect on the walls from inside and outside the windows to move us through the set in a narrative form with the moods of the songs.”
“Both natural and electric lighting can change a lot within time and space of being in a room,” continued Borderud. “The light and dark shifts illuminate the truth of duality throughout the set to represent the moods of Lizzy’s songs.”
Helping Borderud and the tour’s Lighting Programmer Amy Melia create these moods on the 16-city tour were six CHAUVET Professional Maverick Force S Spot fixtures supplied by Squeek Lights.
In addition to producing a variety of captivating colours, the 350-watt fixture, played a critical role in adding depth and texture to the set with its gobos. “This fixture has an amazing selection of gobos,” said Borderud.
“My idea initially had to do with pointing the lights in new directions and cultivating a new dimension on the room’s walls to reflect the feelings of Lizzy and her songs. The Force S spots manifested the song imagery coming to life, it was beautiful how it all worked out. Layered gobos, resembling glass shards in Lizzy’s sone ‘Broken Glass’ and intense red stripe patterns for ‘Firearm’ were two of my personal favourite song looks where we used this technique.”
The physical dimensions of the Maverick Force S Spot also contributed the design. Being relatively compact, the fixtures fit nicely behind the set pieces, as a result, its beams could be used to create streams of light from behind the couch and through the clothing rack and shelves. From this position, the fixture was also relied on to backlight band members.
“For me, the Force S spots were essential for imitating feelings and moods for beautiful moments without drawing attention to the shape of the fixtures themselves,” said Borderud.
Melia, who programmed and timecoded the show, arranged the spot fixtures around the backline each night. “They were the most asked about fixtures in our rig,” Melia continued: “And thanks to our great team and Mack (TM Extraordinaire) and Bob (PM/FOH) who always made sure I was supported and taken care of when it came to the load in/out and show process.”
Borderud agreed: “This show was the result of a team pulling together. It could not have happened without Amy’s hard work.”
This effort paid off, not just for fans, but for the production crew itself, as the show delivered an array of memorable looks that they enjoyed being a part of.
