Chris Brodman, Cody Lisle and the LIT Live! creative team supported the technical infrastructure of Tribal Flute – a 56-minute livestream by noted flutist Keenan Perry – with the deployment of several CHUAVET Professional lighting fixtures.
Working with a studio rig that was anchored by CHAUVET Professional Maverick MK2 Spot, Rogue R2 Wash and Rogue R1 Wash fixtures, Lighting Designer, Jack Watson created a diverse mix of colours and gobo patterns that reflected Perry’s music which featured the artist playing other instruments in addition to the flute, in all its wistful complexity.
“Keenan’s music is much more melodic and slower than what we usually do,” said Watson. “Going into programming, I knew that my main focus would be to create interesting looks and scenes and avoid flashy effects or fast movements.”
Watson relied on aerial effects from the 10 Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures on mid-stage and upstage truss to capture the mood of the flute performance. “The MK2 Spots were definitely my stars,” he said. “We used them to create beautiful textures in the air that helped me compliment the deep nature of Keenan’s music.”
“Colours also played a very important role in giving me ways to reflect the feelings that Keenan was conveying,” continued Watson. “This music was very emotional, and in my opinion, colours are the most powerful tool for conveying human emotions. About halfway into the set, Keenan performed a cover of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. The look I had was a very simplistic blue with a dimmer effect, but it complemented his performance well. Working with the effects that were being overlaid on top of the stream by Dakota Gidley, our VJ, it really was beautiful.”
Watson relied on a broad palette of colours, from soft pastel shades to bold primaries, to convey the heartfelt contemplative nature of Perry’s music. Most of these colours were provided by the Rogue R1 Wash units he arranged along the back and side of the performance area, as well as the R2 Washes that were flown on mid and upstage truss.
Speaking of the truss positions, he noted: “Were the show to have been before a live audience, I would probably swap the upstage towers with the side towers. Then I’d take the side towers and open them up towards the audience to create a more open shape. Keenan’s music needs room to spread its wings and fly us away on his magical flute journey.”