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Bandit and G4 Summit
It was the band’s first tour, capitalising on a huge following built up since being runners up in the last series of X-Factor. Cobrin comments: “After a very successful TV series and UK tour with X-Factor it was no wonder that their debut album shot straight to the top of the charts earlier this year. Their voices are so powerful and dynamic which appeals to a very wide audience. G4 are a completely different act to what is out there at the moment. I’m not in the least surprised this tour sold out.”
Choreographer Gary Lloyd and G4‘s producer Ashley Tabor had initially come up with an asymmetrical stage view, which was then developed into a more industrial scaffolding based set by Production North’s Steve Levitt.
Jensen used the set as the starting point for his lighting design which he also made subtly asymmetric, based around the three towers and two UV reflective G4 signs that came with the set.
His brief included the instructions to ‘think theatre with a rock ‘n’ roll angle’, and with the show being such an eclectic mix of songs – from the Beach Boys to Britney - he had to keep it lively, dynamic and different throughout the full 90 minutes.
However, his biggest challenge was a physical one - designing a versatile rig that would fit into just 17ft of space in the truck! It also had to be adaptable enough to fit into a wide variety of venues – from Newcastle City Hall to the Royal Albert Hall.
He chose 16 Martin MAC 2ks as the mainstay beam and effects lights, four on the front truss, six on the back and six on the floor, plus 16 MAC 600s, six on the front, five on the back and five on the floor. Added to this were four bars of six PARs with Wybron scrollers, two in the air and two on the floor, used for basic colour washes. Then there were two UV guns and a single 5k Fresnel that made a five-second appearance behind the split panel downstage video screen. Jensen also utilised four followspots at each venue.
He describes it as a “simple but effective ‘less is more’ rig”. Each instrument had to perform several functions, and it was crucial that the placement of each fixture was well planned, considered and multi-purpose.
Jensen worked closely with video technician Jeroen Marain on the road, and ran all the Catalyst (supplied by XL Video) material through his WholeHog II console.
Video was a mix of footage supplied by Gary Lloyd, plus new effects created by Jensen using the Catalyst’s onboard clip library. It was used primarily as moving wallpaper.
Jensen worked on the tour with technician and Bandit regular Jason Dixon, and audio was supplied by Wigwam.
In picture: video technician Jeroen ‘Myway’ Marain and LD Matt Jensen.
21st July 2005
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