The 23rd annual Mobile Beat DJ Conference welcomed hundreds of delegates for four non-stop days of educational presentations, equipment showcases and evening networking parties. The keynote seminars as well as the Monday evening party were hosted on an impressive stage in a huge ballroom at the Tropicana’s Convention Center, featuring a lighting rig designed and programmed by ADJ product specialist Edgar Bernal.
Bernal used a selection of ADJ’s flagship products and brand-new fixtures to create a flexible rig that could be used both to highlight the guest speakers during the day and help to get the party started at night. These were arranged across two trusses – one positioned behind the stage and the other hung above the audience – and also lined up along the back of the stage. This allowed Bernal to illuminate the speakers and performers on stage, create static “warmer” looks that set the tone for the conference and then generate engaging mid-air beam and “eye candy” effects for the evening party.
While the lighting rig was essential to the success of the daytime conference, ensuring that the speakers could be clearly seen by the huge audience from all angles, it really came into its own for the Monday evening “Mobile Beat Signature Party.” In addition to a headline set from Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of seminal hip hop group Run DMC, this featured three supporting performances.
“When I found out that DMC of the legendary Run DMC was going to be the headlining performer, I knew I had to specify the best fixtures that ADJ has and program a good selection vibrant looks to create a dynamic backdrop for what I knew would be a high energy show,” Bernal said.
For key light, Bernal used four of ADJ’s potent Encore Profile 1000 Color LED-powered ellipsoidals, alongside eight ADJ Saber Spot RGBW fixtures for color washing, which ensured the performers were well illuminated wherever they moved on the large stage.
“I wanted to make sure that the artists would look great from the audience,” explains Bernal. “I was able to achieve an excellent warm white from the Encore Profile 1000 Colors and could see, from people taking photos in the crowd, that DMC looked great!”
Four of ADJ’s versatile Encore Burst 200 fixtures were positioned along the truss at the back of the stage to provide backlight, audience blinder and strobe effects at different points throughout the event. For profiles, Bernal utilized four of ADJ’s brand new Focus Spot 4Z fixtures alongside four ADJVizi Hybrid 16RX and eight Vizi CMY 300 units. These allowed him to create a wide variety of vibrant colored beam effects and sharp GOBO projections. He made use of the rotating prisms offered by all three fixture types as well as the hybrid beam, spot and wash functionality offered by both of the Vizi models.
To enhance these moving beam effects, Bernal deployed two of ADJ’s Entourage faze machines, one on either side of the stage. Then, to add additional impact when DMC entered the stage, ADJ’s new Entour Ice low-lying fog machine was also put to use.
“The Entourages are so powerful that I only had to run them at around 30 percent to maintain the perfect atmosphere for the whole night,” enthuses Bernal. “This was my first time using the Entour Ice on a show, and I have to say I was very impressed. The low-lying fog effect was nothing short of spectacular and its DMX control feature meant that I was able to cue it perfectly to when DMC entered the stage!”
To complete the stage setup, 16 of ADJ’s high resolution AV2 LED video panels were arranged into two separate screens that provided facades for a pair of on-stage DJ booths, one for the event’s resident performance DJ, Jason Jani, and the other for DMC’s tour DJ. These were used for animated visuals as well as to display the performers’ logos, and were setup with a 5-degree horizontal angle between panels to give the screens a convex shape which helped them to be seen from all around the large room.
