Lighting Designer, Tom Edwards of Mandylights is well versed in collaborating with production teams to create captivating live entertainment experiences. Speaking exclusively to TPi’s Jacob Waite, he reflects on his role lighting the way for Jamie xx’s headline In Waves production at London’s iconic Alexandra Palace. From translating the artist’s hypnotic, black-and-white optical illusions into a breathtaking projection-heavy show, to balancing the cutting-edge technology with retro-inspired lighting effects, Edwards reflects on the creative collaboration behind the scenes. Having worked with Jamie xx and his team since 2022, Edwards delves into the challenges and triumphs of creating an experience which integrates lighting, projection, and live performance.
Tell us about your role on this project…
“I was the lighting designer of the show, my job was to translate the creative brief and create a design that would tick all the boxes and allow the whole creative vision of the show to be executed. I handled all the technical drawings and renders so that we could provide the creatives with a realistic video render of how the show would look. We ended up on version 21 by the start of load-in, so this had been quite a lengthy process.”
When did Mandylights first start working with the Jamie xx camp?
“We’ve been working with Jamie xx since 2022 and have mainly been doing festival appearances with him. The majority have been headline show’s that we have been carrying a designed floor package. The whole team is a delight to work with, and it’s one of my favourite projects that we do. Being able to chat fluidly with the creatives on the project allows us an easy back and forth when conceptualising ideas and understating their requirements.”
What was the creative brief for this project?
“The main element from the onset was to include the crowd in the show as much as possible. Jamie xx’s album artwork is inspired from optical illusions in black and white lines and the movement of them in negative space. This was the outlay from the beginning, so we always knew that there would be a projection element of the show. Obviously, when working with projection; the lighting has to be carefully integrated, as it’s very easy to eliminate projection with today’s brightness in fixtures.”
How did you approach the lighting design as a collective?
“We had to consider that the lighting was always going to complement the projection. There were, of course, always going to be some huge lighting moments to help build the energy in the room that the projection couldn’t. The mirror ball moments required lighting only so the effect of it could be fully appreciated in the room. We had a 2.2m mirror ball from Mirror Ball Paul that I believe was fresh off the production line.”
What was the desired canvas for projection?
“The scrim upstage was 47m wide by 12m high. This gave us a huge cinematic style screen to project on to. It was made up of two gauzes. One of which was black that dropped on a kabuki at the start of the show in order to hide the fact that there was a projection screen behind it. When the audience entered, they walked in to a dark red room. One of the main elements of the show is crowd inclusivity so there were dancers incorporated throughout the audience that come alive during key parts of the performance, that started curating part of the storyline as we worked through the show. There are some prominent moments where the dancers are projected on to the screen by the use of robotic cameras placed on the truss. A wireless camera was manually operated in the crowd by Mechach, who followed the dancers around as they made their way through the audience, who were dancing and having the time of their lives. Slowly the crowd start realising that was all live content, and it really enhanced the energy of the show as everyone could see themselves on the huge screen behind Jamie xx.”
Which software did you use to draw and pre-visualise this project?
“We pre-visualised the show in Syncronorm Depence R3 along with programming it on Disguise and Resolume media servers. Everything was drawn on Vectorworks 2024 Spotlight and that produced all the technical plans for us. We’ve got a full model in Depence of Ally Pally, so this really helped realise this to the creatives.”
Walk us through the lighting rig…
“We had some really strong looks where projection totally lead songs. From simple rippling white lines working from the centre of Jamie xx to sprawling across the room. We managed to achieve effects that just aren’t possible with any lighting fixtures. We added 20 Ayrton Cobras that were placed around the room to light the 2.2m mirrorball; one of Jamie’s statement pieces throughout all of his shows. Although we only used it for three songs, the impact always gets an applause. The Cobras also doubled up with animation wheels simulating some of the projection patterns so that we had the dynamic feel that they were an extension of the projection. We were pushing content from the Disguise media server through all of the lighting fixtures so that it would appear seamless across all the production. In addition, GLP JDC Lines were placed behind Jamie xx on the stage floor to give us a linear strobe to help accent some of his high energy music. Robe FORTEs were also situated behind Jamie xx on risers sitting just below the stage height. We didn’t want to sacrifice the clean stage aesthetic. We added some more fixtures on the room trusses to help further the overhead lighting when projection was off for some moments. Two Robe FORTE followspots were placed to light special guests, Romy and Oliver on the second night.”
What technical solutions did you rely on to create atmospherics?
“Eight MDG The One hazers in the room gave us an even balance of haze throughout the venue and avoided causing clouds of smoke at any point. This was a really important factor because we didn’t want to sacrifice projection output due to clouds of haze being caused by some of the traditional hazers. Thankfully, the MDG’s offer us a ‘TV studio’ quality of haze that was completely even throughout the whole venue. I specified eight so that we could get an even spread across the venue and to allow for crowd air movement once it was full. We had four across the downstage pit and four at FOH.”
Which looks standout to you?
“I think the strongest look from the show is definitely the mirror ball moments. As frequent as these effects are in the industry, you can’t beat the cheer of a crowd at a traditional mirror ball lighting up the room. My other favourite looks would be the projection lines across the crowd. They created a movement from the back of the room to the front that simply can’t be replicated with lighting fixtures. This coupled with the perfect amount of haze gave us the perfect outcome. We projected straight down on to Jamie xx then used robotic cameras to project on the screen behind him for a really cool effect.”
Did you and the production team face any challenges?
“The sheer amount of time projection line up’s take definitely a challenge. We loaded in two days before the first show in order to make sure we had enough time in the venue to technically prove the show. Taking in to consideration what time it gets dark and how much time that actually gives us in Ally Pally. Usually, we would be in a completely dark room 24/7 but the nature of Ally Pally, having a glass roof, means that we only get limited time throughout the night of complete darkness. Bild Studios supplied a fantastic team to help get everything set up and in order, which maximised the amount of programming time we had within the venue to create some really special moments. Ally Pally also has its own challenges, such as the colour of the walls. We ended up draping the whole surrounding walls in order to create the darkest box in the room. This meant that it was as dark as it could possibly be at all times to allow the projection to be appreciated and experienced as much as possible.”
What was it like collaborating with the lighting vendor on this run?
“Liteup has been great. This was the first time I’d worked with the company, but I had worked with Luke Hornbuckle before on some Christmas projects at Kew Gardens. I appreciated having a familiar face to work with from the beginning. Their team was awesome on site, and we nailed through the load in as quick as possible to make sure that all technical and creative departments had the time required to tech the show.”
How did you find the experience of experimenting with projection?
“I’d worked with Bild before in As Wasl Plaza in Dubai at Expo 2020 and that was a full 360° projection surface. I think working in environments like this in the past gave us a good amount of experience of balancing lighting to work with projection. Projection has to lead in these scenarios, and the lighting has to complement the projection. From the beginning, this was always a ‘projection’ show that had lighting to add where possible; never a dual lighting and projection show.”
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Jamie xx // Alexandra Palace // In Waves
Creative: Daphnee Lanternier and Simon Guzylack
Production Manager: Ian McCarthy
Tour Director: Cameron Stuart
Tour Assistant: Molly Wright
Production Coordinator: Sydney Hogdahl
Stage Manager: Phil Taylor
Production Rigger: Iain Keightley
Lighting Design: Tom Edwards
Programmer: Brendan Albrey
Video Director: Chase O’Black
Video Animator: Frank Xavier
Projection: Bild Studios
Project Manager: Harrison Murley-Lee
Technical Director: Jamie Sunter
Media Server Programmer: Alex Loftie
Lead Projectionist: Laurence Dobie
System Engineer: Adam Baston
Projectionists: Jamie Goodliffe and Adam Oliver Hodgson
Bild BTS: Matt Watt
Lighting supplier: Liteup
Lighting Crew Chief: Luke Hornbuckle
Lighting Technicians: Billy Jones, Ryall Dell, Scott Buckley, Steven Haynes and Lewis Beale
PTZ Operators: Jon Priest and Jordan McMahon
Camera Operator: Meshach Roberts
Audio Supplier: Britannia Row Productions
Audio Design: Parker
Backline Technician: Sam Hair
Monitor Engineer: Nick Jorden
Audio Technicians: Tomas Nunes, Tim Miller and Tristan Johnson
System Engineer: Mario Bianchi
Dancers: Sean Murry, Isis Clunie, Nya Bardouile and Valerie Gallery
Dancer Security: Ian Mead
Dancer Security: Dale Hayes
Drape 1: Bridie Lane
Drape 2: Phillip Okandju
Drape 3: Darian Ester
Runner: Rupert Wilkie-Short
Photography: Luke Dyson
