Miley Cyrus returned to US screens recently for a massive live-broadcast party with a host of star guests. Taking place at Miami’s Telemundo Studios, it featured classic rock ‘n’ roll lighting effects mixed with a Miami club style setting, achieved using Vari-Lite VL5LED Wash luminaires from Signify.
DX7 Design delivered the lighting design, specifying a series of the VL5LED Wash fixtures which were mostly rigged to the arches of the main scenic structure over the main stage.
“This was our third TV show with Miley and on each one, she has opted for a more lighting-based design with almost no video,” explained Tom Sutherland, CEO and Lead Designer at DX7 Design. “She is a big fan of the more traditional lighting looks, which is why we had a large PAR wall as our background, as opposed to a video wall. Positioning the VL5LEDs on the arches really helped to compliment the Production Design, as well as provide a nice background for any side or low camera shots.”
Cyrus’s decision to include the PAR wall as opposed to a video screen, with a lot of beams and moving lights, meant that the DX7 Design team needed to ensure they had the tools needed to provide the different and dynamic looks for the many musical numbers, but also keep a very traditional aesthetic when needed that complemented the large PAR wall.
“The most impressive feature of the VL5LEDs by far was the brightness,” Sutherland continued. “They were never above 50% intensity for the entire show, yet still easily competed with the other conventional and arc sources on the show.”
The design for the New Year’s Eve show was heavily connected to the Production Design by Keith Raywood, and Cyrus’s vision and personal aesthetic. “The VL5LED was a perfect fixture choice, given Miley’s vision, as it blended well with the more traditional PAR looks, but still gave us the flexibility and excitement needed for a two-hour live show,” he added.
DX7 Design took full advantage of the VL5LED fixtures’ vintage styling with the Dichro*fusion Blades, which are based on the classic Vari-Lite VL5 and offer a strong visual impact. The looks achieved went into overdrive as a host of stars joined Cyrus on stage, including Australian singer Sia, reality TV celebrity Paris Hilton, and Cyrus’s godmother Dolly Parton, who duetted with Cyrus on her power ballad ‘I Will Always Love You’.
VL5LED luminaires were supplied to the show by Solotech, with programming by Mark Humphrey and Nate Files, and lighting direction by James Coldicott and Jasmine Lesane. Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party was broadcast live on NBC and Peacock.
