Having their production of We Will Rock You squashed by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 didn’t deter Bendigo Theatre Company. At the start of the year, the company scheduled performances for July at Ulumbarra Theatre.
With lighting by Ian Scott, this production of We Will Rock You was described as a stadium show masquerading as a musical.
“We had collaborative meetings between the director (Paul Watson), set designer (Vern Wall) and scenic designer (Sam Franklin) to develop and expanded the design,” commented Ian. “I wanted the ability to swing between a futuristic electronic era and classic rock’n’roll looks but with the ability to use either genre fixtures in both scenes. Classic incandescent blinders and PAR fixtures were a must to achieve a warm glow during certain scenes.”
Ian’s biggest challenge was a tight bump in and rehearsal period although previsualizing most of the show was certainly a great help once they hit the theatre.
For set lighting, every truss section had two LED PARs and the Freddie Mercury statue had W-DMX LED strips built-in.
An ETC EOS platform was used for control, programmed on an ION Classic, and backed up with the venue’s ION Xe. Most of the show was visualized in Capture Symphony.
“We set up our own control systems network, allowing finer data control and separation between ArtNet/ OSC/ EOS Multi Console/ Remote Desktops and projector control systems when needed,” added Ian. “The final console cue count of 562 cues with many also linking/looping or firing other cue lists.”
A single EPSON 10K Projector projecting onto a 5m circular screen was used with two Arena Media servers providing two outs (via Datapath FX4-SDI) to the projector and prop CRT TV (which was gutted and had a LED LCD monitor).
“We had two video sources into the server the first been a feed from the green screen room located in one of the production offices and the second was a GoPro mounted onto a guitar with a wireless link,” said Ian.
Ian commented that there were a couple of moments that stood out for him, the transitions into Hard Rock Cafe and out into the Headlong motorbike then back into a full stage Wembley stadium was a favourite with big lighting changes hiding revealing different sets in the transitions.
“The wasteland scenes were a favourite visually with rusty sepia tones accented by a slowly fading single red pixel of the Chauvet R2 washes or the warm glow of the molefays during certain moments,” remarked Ian.
The rig was supplied by a variety of production companies:
ISLX
14x Chauvet R2 Wash
18x Martin MAC700 Profile
8x Martin TW1
16x ShowPRO Tri 18
12x Chauvet Freedom Sticks
16x PAR64 120V
1x ETC ION Classic
1x ETC Nomad Puck
2x Antari HZ350
2x Arena Media Servers
Wireless DMX and video hardware
Capture Symphony
Phaseshift
32x Molefay 2 way
12x Molefay 8 way
6x Molefay 4 way
2x Selecon Performer
Trussing & Rigging
Lighting Lab
12x F230II Beams
16x Ray Cans
ResolutionX
6M Truss Circle
Wick Lighting
4x ShowPRO Star Cloths
Venue
1x ETC ION Xe
36x Slimpar ProH
8x Chauvet R3X Wash
9x Chauvet 475Z
14x Par 64
2x Strong Super Trouper II
Approx 30x ETC SourceFour profiles for boom positions
Photos: Daniel Soncin
