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PL & P
speaking , we were show-ready ! This saved us precious minutes , which makes me eternally grateful for this fixture choice .
Of course , these rules regarding dim speed apply to the Quantum Wash as well . The Quantum Wash ’ s added LED rings and lens rotation really put it over the top for me . There are other fixtures on the market that can do these effects , but none with the reliability of the Quantum Wash . I don ’ t wanna slag on any one product ’ s reliability , but I really didn ’ t want to watch my tech mess around with jammed lens rotators on 20-minute changeovers .
Lastly , due to the size of Euro outdoor festivals and often shitty wind and weather , we went overboard on conventional fixtures in the floor kit – 16 four-light Moles aimed straight at the audience and 16 more in the roof . These lights always provided an impressive effect regardless of a lack of haze , and being that many Rise Against songs are sing-alongs , it didn ’ t hurt to have more audience light , either .
PL & P : What about the video elements ? How comfortable are you in that domain , and what were the pros and cons that came with handling both disciplines yourself ?
MH : The video element was something that made me particularly excited to kick off this project . I had been really honing my skills over the past two years in my MA2-Resolume programming on a few other projects . I am lucky enough to have a wonderful partnership and friendship with the owner of Triangle Media Servers , George Gorton . We actually shared a house in Toronto for a couple years . Triangle Media Servers are essentially custom high-end computers that we run Resolume on . The sheer horsepower and number of inputs and outputs allow Resolume to be utilized in a different manner than what you see guys doing on laptops at festivals .
I would be remiss not to mention George ’ s Chief Engineer , Brady Villadsen . Brady has really educated us all in how to get the most out of the servers . Multiple inputs and outputs , Art-Net DMX out , Art-Net merges … All happening seamlessly can be very much attributed to Brady ’ s vast knowledge of the Resolume software . He taught us about taking the festival IMAG feed into my servers and sending it back to the festival video crew just so I can clone an RGB fixture from my light show to the cooler palette of the IMAG screen , keeping all the colours matched . Pretty basic stuff , but these are things we were doing when rolling into festivals last minute with no prep – just kind of adding more cool things where we saw opportunity . Tons of map-able LEDs on the wings of a stage ? No problem . Art-Net DMX in Resolume Arena 5.4 makes this feasible . It ’ s great to see your video playback get utilized in so many ways .
Over the years , being George ’ s go-to MA2 guy exposed me to a lot of programming issues other users were having with the platform . All of this experience has made me feel extremely comfortable in approaching the video element of this tour . I knew I could deliver a unified front in achieving a consistent aesthetic over the video and lighting elements . We run video wall processors at 100 per cent and sometimes are very much using our two video walls as light fixtures . Handling both elements allows me to do things like make negative space in the light show when the video walls are strobing at 100 per cent or any other over-the-top pieces of content .
I think it is inevitable that the elements of lighting and video will compete when two people work on the show ; it ’ s a normal problem to have and one that you work out . Handling both elements allows me to have this worked out from the start .
PHOTO : KIRSTEN OTTO
The cons ? We only had content generated for the segue and interlude pieces ; no specific songs had content created . This left a lot on my plate . I had our content director , Stephen Steeleman of Brigantine Films , create custom masks that I married with generic content to create the content for the show . With lots of time on my hands , it was really fun and intriguing ; as the clock winded down , it became pretty daunting to create different visual styles to put against each of Rise ’ s songs . Resolume ’ s vast real-time effects engine gave me the opportunity to take this generic content and turn it into something that you would never recognize .
With handling both elements myself and looming deadlines , creating a new aesthetic for each song and keeping away from anything that looked too “ screen saver-like ,” as the band says , is something that is still proving difficult . This is a problem that can be solved with some elbow grease .
For our upcoming run , I am now pulling more real-world footage from the band ’ s music videos and creating custom loops . Using this footage and continuing to marry it with our custom masks is proving to be a winning combo . To explain a little more , our masks are new and old logos and artwork that Stephen has animated ever so slightly to keep the show from feeling stagnant .
PL & P : Very cool . Speaking about specific songs , looks , or moments in the show , what are your personal highlights from this run and why ?
MH : These guys have too many great moments for me to choose from , but off the top of my head … The acoustic section featuring the songs “ People Live Here ,” “ Swing Life Away ,” and “ Hero of War ” is always a treat . We keep the lighting real simple and almost static for this section of the night . Hearing tens of thousands of people scream every lyric of these songs with just a man and his acoustic guitar on stage is always a reflective and emotional moment for me during every show . It ’ s also the one time I get to stop operating and pray that we are on an outdoor stage so I can light a smoke ( laughs ). Did I just basically describe my favourite moment of the set as when I get to light a smoke ? I think I did . Please forgive the roadie humour ; we don ’ t have an off switch .
The band ’ s massive hits like “ Give It All ,” “ Prayer of the Refugee ,” and “ Savior ” were moments that I loved every night . The energy in the venue really goes all the way to 100 when the band drops these tunes . Getting to take this lighting rig up to full throttle is really fun . There was quite a bit of head banging done at front of house on this tour . Matching this band ’ s energy is something that is hard to do , and you really need to be present and in the moment to do so . This is arguably what I love most about lighting bands .
PL & P : Were there any particularly challenging aspects of this tour , or perhaps any new looks or solutions you came across that you think might be useful for your future work ?
24 | Fall 2017