ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium Lights Up Empire of the Sun

Australian act Empire of the Sun shook Coachella on April 14 at the festival’s Sahara Stage, which was outfitted with the ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium.

The light show was controlled by Dave Taylor, who used over 1,200 different light fixtures and 3,000 channels of LED tape in his 86-active-universe show. Taylor also utilized a SnakeSys R8 eight-universe Ethernet to DMX converter, a SnakeSys R4 multi-purpose network distribution node, and two SnakeSys B4 four-universe DMX to Ethernet converters to run his rig.

“There was no shortage of lighting on this one,” said Taylor. “Empire of the Sun is always pushing the boundaries, not just musically but visually. They’re constantly searching for images that move people in new ways. Our show continues to build and, as a designer, I’m constantly evolving with it. This is the first time I used the MagicQ MQ500 Stadium, since it’s new. This is really the next step in controllers for me, kind of a natural progression. It enabled me to create the ideal workspace for myself to program and control the show.”

The speed and flexibility of the ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium made it easier for Taylor to preprogram the detailed show, and video also played a large role in his design.

 “Doing your homework is 90 percent of the gig when you have a show like this,” he said. “The ChamSys platform makes this task simpler with the excellent speed that it has when patching and manipulating fixtures. When you pair the console’s internal morphing and cloning capabilities with features like multi-patch, quick offset options and powerful pixel mappers, you find it quick and easy to build a solid foundation that can be adapted to different venues.”