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HES Products Play Instrumental Role in Trans-Siberian Orchestra Tour
This year’s Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour is the biggest it’s ever been. Two identical shows are touring the East and West Coast US, each carrying 13 truckloads of production. Included in the total equipment package are 30 High End Systems Showgun automated luminaires and four Wholehog 3 consoles for both tours, supplied by Q1 of Canada.
Production/lighting designer Bryan Hartley (pictured) is also touring for his eighth year as the LD on the East Coast leg. Lighting Director Dan Cassar, now in his fifth year, handles the West Coast run. Both tours started Nov. 1.
Hartley likes to design in new products with each new production. This is the year for Showgun to shine. “I love them, they’re awesome. It’s a good quality moving light but three times as big,” Hartley says. “There’s nothing else like it out there.”
The rig features 10 moving pods, with a Showgun positioned in the middle of each pod as its centerpiece. Another four Showguns hang on audience trusses over the front of house area. The Showguns’ main purpose is for key lighting.
“I love its color mixing, strobing, lighter weight, LED ring, brightness and solid beam – plus it plugs in just like a normal moving light,” Hartley says. “We have so many LED products on this show, so the Showgun - with its recognizable LED ring - fits right in and looks great. This is a heavy metal show, so rather than do the multi-colored Christmas thing I’m using all solid colors. I love the solid beam of Showgun. I use the strobe, too – and I flash the LEDs red and blue.”
Wholehog 3 is now his console of choice, which he’s used on tours with Motley Crue, Supernova, Marilyn Manson and just recently Velvet Revolver. “I’ve been using Wholehog 3 software for over a year now and it’s all good,” Hartley says. “The ease of operation all makes sense. It’s got the speed that I need to do whatever I need to do and it runs beautifully. All the software issues are worked out now. Also I use the ‘copy and paste’ function a lot. On this tour it’s really helpful because I have to duplicate the two shows onto two touring consoles so it saves me a lot of time.”
It’s a big show. The Wholehog 3 console is not only controlling a lot of lights and LED products, it’s also triggering the laser show. High End Systems’ Brad Schiller helped out during rehearsals, setting up the Wholehog software that sends MIDI commands to the laser controller to fire off those cues in the show.
With that, Hartley is already planning next year’s design. “About three to four times a year, I meet with John Lunio, crew chief for the West Coast tour, to look at the design, which I usually start before the current tour is over while I’m on the road. It’s a brand new design every year and we always add more. Every year is the biggest.”
The shows run through the holidays until Jan. 6, 2008.
13th November 2007
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