Rolling Stones utilised 36 Robe BMFL Spots for their latest No Filter European tour, part of a spectacular and epic Lighting Design created by Patrick Woodroffe.
The veteran LD and Associate Designer, Terry Cook, of Woodroffe Bassett Design (WBD), worked closely with stage architects Stufish on developing the show’s overall aesthetic. The duo sought 4 ‘slots’ just below the tops of 4 imposing 23 meter high by 11-meter wide monolithic video towers.
“Patrick and I needed a multi-functional fixture and knew the positions would be hard to access and given the complexity of CDM rules and regulations and the requirement that crew be able to access the fixtures safely a lot of thought went into the process,” explained Cook. “We decided on BMFLs because they are high powered, intense multi-functional moving lights with nice sized front lenses (giving rise to the much-loved quality fat beam) that are also reliable.”
Woodroffe has worked with the Rolling Stones for 35 years, joined by Terry and Jeremy Lloyd of Wonder Works, who project managed the tour’s pre-production technical elements worked intensively on how to achieve the desired overall look of the stage and the slots in the video screens. Belgian entertainment engineering specialist WIcreations was involved in calculating, producing and fabricating some special elements and imaginative rigging.
The video crew build the screens out of LED frames filled with 12 mm Saco S12 LED, supplied by Solotech, creating slots 2 meters below the top, and once the space was complete, lighting contractor Neg Earth’s crew slid a lighting frame into the gaps which locked to the existing screen supports. Then the BMFL Spots were installed.
The fixtures were located via a locking bracket and sat at 90° to the stage. Front panels with 1-cell DWE Moles were then fitted to cover the base of the BMFLs, followed by the rain shields, then the rear rain hat. The process of rigging each row of 9 x BMFL Spots neatly and securely took only around 15 / 20 minutes thanks to some nifty and well-engineered solutions. Rigged at 90° and slide the units forward to be able to hit the drum riser at 22 ft. from the front of the stage.
A d3 media server system (now called ‘disguise’) was specified for the playback content and to format IMAG feeds coming from Camera Director, Nick Keiser. While Roland Greil from WBD, was in the role of Screens Director and d3 Programmer. Cook ran the overall project for WBD, Ethan Weber was Lighting Director and Operator. The jaw-droppingly visual, dramatic and entertaining No Filter tour was managed and coordinated on the road in Europe by production manager Dale “Opie” Skjerseth.
