So you think you can dance?

[Shakspeares suck]

Hey all, I was watching a little bit of fox's so you can think can dance, and couldnt help but notice the "lighting Design" for it. ANyone have any comments? It seems as though every dance is just two follow spots with two other movers that somehow follow the dancers. Is this accomplished by using a tracker? I just thought this subject would be good. thanks

Shaks

[NickJones]

There are products out there that you attach to performers and then type all the measurements into a computer, and the MLs will track them anywhere they go if they wear the transmitter. I doubt they are using this though as it would be rather noticeable. It is probably just followspots doing it, even if it looks like movers. The reason most of the dances are the dances seem the same is that it would take ages to sit down and sort out a desired "look" for each act, I presume anyway.
Nick

[soundlight]

I've heard of a few situations where someone has taken a mover like a VL3000 and disabled pan and tilt and put a good handle on the back and used it as a followspot. This could be what they're doing if there seem to be gobos or other ML type effects following the performers - but I haven't seen the show so I couldn't say.

[len]

I believe Wybron makes/made a system. Martin makes/made one also.

One (don't remember which) required multiple receivers to triangulate the performer, who wore a transmitter. Data was sent back to the console, which would track via however many moving lights. All you did was make a cue to follow X transmitter in whatever color/gobo. The other system used a device which looked like a tv camera. It shot a laser beam and you "painted" the performer, which again sent data back to the console and the lights would follow depending on the cue. It was similar technology to how the military paints a target for its guided missiles.

Or it could be followspots.

As for writing cues for each performance, I don't see that as a big deal. I haven't seen SYTYCD, but they do new cues for each performance on Dancing with the Stars and American Idol. The focus points are fairly similar, so it's more a matter of combining a ballyhoo or two, a gobo palette and a color palette for each number. My guess is the designer for those shows gets costume design and colors and music about two days before dress rehearsal, so they write most of it then using a pre-vis program like ESP Vision, tweak it out during dress, and run it on the show.

You can really break DWTS down to four or five lists: the band and the upstage area; the color cubes around the dance floor, the moving lights around the dance floor, the overhead stuff, and the performer followspots.

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by soundlight

I've heard of a few situations where someone has taken a mover like a VL3000 and disabled pan and tilt and put a good handle on the back and used it as a followspot. ...

The current Fleetwood Mac (discussed here: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/l...dallas-tx.html) tour uses two VL3000Spots as truss spots, and it works well. The HES Cyberlight makes a great followspot with its mirror-head removed, called the CyberSpot.

Originally Posted by len

I believe Wybron makes/made a system.

Wybron Autopilot II.

I haven't (and won't) seen the show either, so can't be certain, but suspect they're just truss spots. Lycian M2s and Robert-Juliats are common favorites.

[Esoteric]

I hate the Autopilot (after 2 tours with one). There is no way they would risk it.

They are Lycian truss spots. You can't beat a good light with a good operator.

Mike

[Razzy]

I've actually been watching the show for the past 3 seasons for the lighting design. And I must say that this year has been most definitely the laziest excuse for a "lighting design" for them yet. It has mainly been area lighting and then toss the spotlights on them. "Who cares what a dancer's face looks like, its the line in their body that we are meant to light." (a mentor once told me when I was given the dancers too much front light in my dance piece.) But any who, they did manage to pull off a cool effect when the used a crap load of hollywood 6 packs tonight for the group piece.

[ship]

Quick in not doing I think said show (so far as I remember) but in other or others mentioned, don't have any preformer following trackers that I know of and they were not used. Takes me back years in the industry such an invention yet we don't own any years later that I know of. Think it's more just professional follow spot technitions with perhaps a great stage manager and a rehearsal.