Reaching a Futuresex/Loveshow level?

[TheDonkey]

So a while back, while flipping through channels, I stumbled upon a rerun of the Justin Timberlake Futurese/Loveshow on HBO and was totally stunned.

Not by the crap music, but by the :awsm: of the lighting.

I'm still in Highschool and've only been to 2 concerts ever, one was outdoors and low-budget, the other, was even not-gooder as it was a Free concert in our school Auditorium, ie Standard White source-fours, no gels, just music(which was good, imo)

But yeah, I was totally stunned at the awesome of the show they put on and it gave me a bunch of questions relating to professional concert lighting(where I'm hoping to go)

About how long did it take how many designers/programmers to get the whole thing programmed and set? Not looking at exact numbers, but "what to expect"

What would be the "best" route to take to get to play with that many toys, what courses in high school, what post-high, etc?

And overall, what was that concert like compared to some other, similar shows? About average in number of lights, flashiness, etc.

For those that've yet to see any of it,
TubeChop - 01- Futuresex/Lovesound Live Futuresex/LoveShow (04:36)
(TubeChopped to the beginning of the actual show)

That's the first piece of it which has most of their toys shown off, Hydraulic lift, HUGE rising scrim(?), what look to be over 100 intelligent lights, etc.

Funny thing to note, I get the feeling that Strobes were excluded in the design plan for this, the number of Red eye and camera flashes is astounding XD

 

[maccalder]

"How many people" is a loaded question - often there will be at least the following at the board end:

Lighting Designer
Lighting Programmer
Lighting Operator

For larger shows the desk end can contain in excess of the following:

Lighting Designer
Visual Designer
Moving Light Programmer
Conventional Light Programmer
LED/Visuals Programmer
Moving Light Operator
Conventional Light Operator
LED/Visuals Operator
Plus the assistants (and the assistants to the assistants)


Plus people in positions like:

Dimmer Technician
Moving Light Technician
Data Distribution Technician
Head/Chief Electrician
etc

It just depends on the production company employed by the tour, the complexity of the rig, and largely, the designer.

Tips for getting into the R&R lighiting industry - get employed as a pair of hands (a case pusher/load in technician) with a touring production company and work your way up... Just remember that there is a good chance that every other tech there wants the exact same sort of promotion. I doubt there is a High School on earth that offers the sorts of skills you will need for the big tours - College may give you a number of skills that help, but even after that, the main thing that will get you where you want to be is hard work, and connections.

 

[TheDonkey]

Learn something new every day

I posted this half expecting a "Start with working in a theater, move up to House concerts, then touring"

But never thought of being a "pair of hands" before getting to play with the board.

Andsomething else that comes up as a question, even on larger productions, why does the designer have to be at teh board, I thought that once a show's designed, programmed and being played back the designer's job is pretty much done?

Thanks though.

 

[maccalder]

They don't (and often they aren't) - it is not uncommon for an LD to be working on their next design in the midst of installing their current design.

 

[derekleffew]

...About how long did it take how many designers/programmers to get the whole thing programmed and set? Not looking at exact numbers, but "what to expect"

The scenery shops most likely had about 8-12 weeks to build the show. The lighting shop maybe three. Often a tour will finalize everything by renting an out-of-the-way venue to bring everything together. Due to budget, it's rare for this process to last longer longer than one week. Pre-viz programs such as ESP Vision and WYSIWYG allow the lighting team to pre-program the visuals in a pre-viz studio rather than in an actual venue, with all the costs involved. That particular tour also hired 12 truss spot operators at each tour stop who had never seen the show. The load-in was 80 local stage hands for 4-6 hours for the load-in at 8am on the day of show and 100 hands for 3 hours for the load-out.

...
What would be the "best" route to take to get to play with that many toys, what courses in high school, what post-high, etc?

See this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting/6384-i-want-lighting-designer.html.

...And overall, what was that concert like compared to some other, similar shows? About average in number of lights, flashiness, etc.

It was one of the bigger tours of 2007. About avarage in number of lights, but unique due to the "in-the-round" staging. The entire production fit into 25 53' semi-trailers, and 10 buses transported the production personnel, musicians, and talent. I'm sure Mr. Timberlake and his personal entourage flew ahead to each city. Start subscribing to some of the mags listed in http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/collaborative-articles/7856-industry-periodicals.html. Here's an article on the show from one of them: Justin Timberlake has talent in his current tour. The tour was #3, behind The Police (who just released a DVD of their tour) and Kenny Chesney, in the top-grossing tours of 2007. See http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...pular-touring-lighting-console.html#post81039.

...That's the first piece of it which has most of their toys shown off, Hydraulic lift, HUGE rising scrim(?), what look to be over 100 intelligent lights, etc.

Closer to 200 lights. The article referenced above has an exact list. These types of effects would not be possible without technology borrowed from the theatre, who in turn has stolen them from other industries. The hydraulics are modified scissor lifts. See Hydraulic Lifts by B and R Scenery, (although the set for this show was built by Tait Towers, BandR just has a better website). The scrims were modified roll drops, supplied by ShowRig.

For a more modest, but just as valid view of a concert tour, see http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/off-topic/9912-o-r-time-lapse.html.

 

[len]

You can subscribe to a couple magazines to get info on the specifics of a tour/production. Things such as PSLN, Live Design, etc. There's a bunch of others but I'm blanking on names at the moment.

 

[Sony]

Honestly I don't find Justin Timberlake all that impressive...

IMO if you want Impressive lighting then you want some Trans-Siberian Orchestra

 

[TheDonkey]

Holy shitake mushrooms.

I can see how from a tech perspective, it's totally awesome, with the billion strobes and other flashies,

But from an overall watching it perspective, it doesn't seem to be as "refined" as JT :/ too much random strobing and fog.

 

[gafftaper]

I mentioned this before, get yourself the Bonus DVD from the recent DVD Release by Genesis "When in Rome". The Third Bonus disc has a documentary about the tour called "rain or shine" it shows how they put the concert together as well as some behind the scenes stuff on the road. It gives a really good picture of how much is involved in one of these mega tours.

 

[TheDonkey]

I mentioned this before, get yourself the Bonus DVD from the recent DVD Release by Genesis "When in Rome". The Third Bonus disc has a documentary about the tour called "rain or shine" it shows how they put the concert together as well as some behind the scenes stuff on the road. It gives a really good picture of how much is involved in one of these mega tours.

Thanks, I'll look into getting a copy when I get my next pay check

 

[cprted]

Holy shitake mushrooms.

I can see how from a tech perspective, it's totally awesome, with the billion strobes and other flashies,

But from an overall watching it perspective, it doesn't seem to be as "refined" as JT :/ too much random strobing and fog.

Keep in mind that between the sound likely being a hair out of sink with the image, the resolution and refresh rate of youtube videos, and the frame rate of the camera, you're really not seeing what the audience is seeing in those videos. If you saw it live, it would seem a lot less random.

 

[TheDonkey]

Well it is in sync, and yeah, maybe random wasn't the right word.

But I still stand with my comment of JT being more "refined"

 

[soundman]

One of my favorite designs was the one done for Daft Punks last tour. Watching the whole concert is very theatrical even thought some of the looks are raver flash and trash. The rig is reviled bit by bit so each song has a new element added or something used in a different way.

To echo what has been said high school and college will only teach you skills tangentially related to concert touring. Logical thought processes and people skills are bigger than knowing any one piece of gear or process. College is not a requirement to get on the road but when your body aches every morning can provide a different path.

Daft Punk

Here's what some time lapse of a show day

Heres some tour prep footage from a major lighting shop

 

[gafftaper]

I mentioned this before, get yourself the Bonus DVD from the recent DVD Release by Genesis "When in Rome". The Third Bonus disc has a documentary about the tour called "rain or shine" it shows how they put the concert together as well as some behind the scenes stuff on the road. It gives a really good picture of how much is involved in one of these mega tours.

Thanks, I'll look into getting a copy when I get my next pay check

They Ramble a little too much about the history of the band from time to time in the video. But they do show the meetings with designers to create the set. They assemble the whole thing in some MASSIVE rehearsal hall where they rehearse for a while. You see all their issues getting timing just right on video and lighting. There's the endless search for the right stool to drum on. Then it goes out on tour and there's a great sequence of trying to get set for an outdoor concert when there are massive thunder storms in the area.

 

[Sony]

Daft Punk

Holy Crap...how did I forget about Daft Punk...my favorite band of all time...***bangs his head against the desk*

Alive 2007 was frigging amazing! Woooooooo!

 

[derekleffew]

Well, as light shows go, I prefer this one:
.

 

[TimMiller]

but what ever you decide to do, dont be like a lighting guy who works for me, who goes out and see's a TSO show and then tries to recreate it on his own tour with a small budget. He will call me and say i want 3 led panels 4 DL3's, yada yada yada, and then they all freak when i send them the bill for 24k a show.

 

[TheDonkey]

Whoa, been a while since anyone posted here(NOVEMBER!?!? I thought this was December >.<)

Anyways, I'm currently re-watching the Loveshow, and a question that's popped to mind is, how do they keep track of timing with the lights?

Is it just a pure timer that goes off with a GO command, or is it Midi syncronised to one of the Pianos or... possibly a combination of the two?

 

[Esoteric]

Whoa, been a while since anyone posted here(NOVEMBER!?!? I thought this was December >.<)

Anyways, I'm currently re-watching the Loveshow, and a question that's popped to mind is, how do they keep track of timing with the lights?

Is it just a pure timer that goes off with a GO command, or is it Midi syncronised to one of the Pianos or... possibly a combination of the two?

The lighting director (sometimes the same as the lighting designer, sometimes not depending on the size of the show) runs the lights while the show is out on tour. They put the rig up, adjust the palettes and he is all set. It is a "press go button" at the right time sort of thing.

Music is too organic for Midi control, etc.

Mike

 

[Esoteric]

By the way at the right times flash and trash is perfectly appropraite.

Mike