For Dustin Klein’s recent work on Papadosio’s second annual Summer Sequence at the Pisgah Brewing Company, part of creating this space relied on weaving the lighting around the band’s music to tell a visual story. Using rich jeweltones and super-saturated colors to create a seamless, kaleidoscopic environment, Klein relied on a variety of CHAUVET DJ fixtures to transport the audience to another dimension.
Placing six CHAUVET DJ Intimidator Wash Zoom 450 IRC fixtures on the upstage truss facing outward allowed for an even spread of wash that created depth and shaping on stage to make the band really pop.
“I ran the Intimidator 450s in their highest channel mode, in order to chase the individual pixels and tie together the different sections of the light in full rig color wipes and dimmer chases,” said Klein. “My intention is to build an atmosphere that enhances the relationships between the performers and the audience, and a big part of doing this is by creating an exciting, dimensional backdrop that works as the base for all the other lighting elements to play against.”
Klein clustered six CHAUVET DJ Intimidator Spot LED 350 fixtures on the mid-stage truss to add extra power to the band and back wall lighting, and to create aerial effects with gobos and prism through the haze above the crowd. Klein utilized split colors to open up a variety of looks, relying on the dimming capabilities on the fixtures to create fast, punchy color fades that became an integral part of the visual story Klein was weaving throughout the performance.
A large tree built into the upstage area also added an interesting element to Klein’s design. Instead of trying to light around the tree, Klein used nine Freedom Pars angled up behind the video wall to create a natural texture and illusion of even greater depth on stage.
A layer of haze was provided by two CHAUVET DJ Hurricane Haze 4Ds, one Hurricane Haze 2D and two Geysers. The Hurricane Haze 4Ds were placed on either side of the stage, with the Haze 2D set in the middle. The two Geysers were mounted facing outwards on the mid-stage truss, flanking the Intimidator 350 fixtures. “Having haze spread out across the whole stage and into the audience really helped ensure greater coverage of the beams, and also carried the light throughout the space,” Klein said. “The Geysers also helped fill in a thick haze to add drama to some really big moments in the performance.”
“Asheville is a hometown show for Papadosio, so it needed to be extra special. While I had never been to the venue before, Ed Link, the band’s production manager and sound engineer, had worked several summers on the outdoor stage at Pisgah, and was able to give us valuable intel – specifically, by letting us know ahead of time about the big tree growing out of the stage,” said Klein. “By bringing some extra rigging to pull the truss away from the tree, we were able to avoid this becoming an issue. I’d also like to give a big shout-out to Stewart Sound, who provided the majority of the fixtures, and Life is Art Productions, who provided the Hurricane Haze 4Ds and 2D.”
Photo Credit: Keith Griner
