Lighting Designer and Director of Photography Carlos Nogueira specified almost 600 Robe moving lights for a recent DVD shoot.
The shoot was for Forro singer-songwriter Wesley Safadão and was staged at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in Brasilia, Brazil. The concert was attended by 50,000 fans and was shot using 24 cameras.
Nogueira had some specific thoughts at the outset about where he wanted the LED screens to be positioned. As soon as the venue was confirmed he immediately had ideas about how he could use the stadium as a key element in the scenography.
Once the structural elements of the stage design were established, Nogueira had to place his fixtures around the space, which he said was a challenge as there were around 700 lights in total. The lighting kit was all delivered by Sao Paulo based Apple Produções and included 160 Robe Pointes, a fixture that Nogueira stated he particularly likes for its brightness, power and versatility. One of the best known LDs and DOPs in Brazil, he is also a regular Robe user.
Also on the rig were 48 Robe BMFL Spots, 26 ColorSpot 1200 AT’s, 26 ColorWash 1200 ATs, 120 LEDBeam 100s, 60 LEDWash 600s, 48 LEDWash 1200’s, 50 CycFX 8’s, 12 Robin 300E Beams, 10 ColorBeam 2500AT’s, 24 MMX WashBeam’s, plus PAR’s, Jarag’s and other LED sources, all controlled from two consoles, a MA Lighting grandMA2 light and full size.
Nogeuira explained that he positioned the BMFL’s on the over-stage trusses: “The BMFL is perfect for big stages and shows, and especially for outdoor applications. I love the zoom and the many effects that can be created using BMFL’s”.
When it came to the Pointe’s, his strategy was different: “They work exceptionally well as walls of lighting at the sides of the stage and this is what I did with them here.” He stated that he used the Pointes as beams, spots and washes: “There’s simply so much you can do with a single Pointe!”
The 120 LEDBeam 100’s were dotted all over the place and used as super-fast ‘flare’ lights going onto the camera shots and the audience. For lighting the audience generally, he used as many LEDWash 1200’s and 600’s as possible, for their “excellent” colour mixing and brightness and “amazing” zoom. They were complimented with ColorSpot 1200E AT’s together with more LEDBeam 100’s.
The LEDWash 600’s and 1200’s were also used as base washes across the band for the cameras and were distributed around the stage expressly with this task in mind.
These fixtures were supported by the MMX WashBeams, which provided front and rear key light on the band and Wesley Safadão. The CycFX 8’s were positioned on the floor all around the stage.
Nogueira‘s said that the main challenge was to get the synergy right between such a large number of fixtures without it ending up as a mush of lights.
He worked closely with Lighting Programmer Vinicius Costa to programme the MA2 consoles and also with Apple Produções’ Gabriel Pincel, who in his role as Technical Director, assisted with the layout and placement of all the fixtures on the rig.