LIGHTING
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Dunn believes in an active
possibilities there. With no band to light any more, he was able to design a good rig behind there so that when the high- energy club numbers kicked in, we could combine content on the screen with dynamic lighting from behind to change the space and amp up the vibe.” LIGHTING THE WAY Dunn believes in an active dialogue between lighting, video and sound, not just in terms of sharing your ideas early on through previsualisation, but also through direct technical connectivity within the theatre. “For example, sharing actual colour value control, positional data from automation (which worked really well for the revolve in Manchester and the front gauze in London) or by using systems that can record all departments’ values for archive video,” says Dunn. For a show of Burlesque ’s nature, it’s essential to have the numbers on a timecode. “The lighting designer used a
in front of the band to allow both visuals and transparency, but I figured that, with the sort of punchily lit numbers we had later in the show, projection wasn’t going to cut it. So, I suggested the transparent LED as an alternative,” says Dunn. “The LED screen had to be able to produce a crisp image (at a theatrical viewing distance at least).” Pixellux opted for the Leyard CLM 10 with Colorlight Z6 Processors carrying custom optimised configurations to improve colour banding. “I would’ve loved a higher-resolution product, but we had to find the best balance between affordability and impact,” explains Dunn. “The Manchester lighting designer did make use of that, but mostly to see the band through it when desired and then to close them off when we weren’t in the club setting.” In the West End iteration of the show, video on this surface was in closer dialogue with lighting. “I spoke with the new lighting designer about the
dialogue between the lighting, video and sound teams, sharing small but key details from colour value control to positional data
Pixellux brought video and lighting into deeper conversation in the West End version of Burlesque the Musical
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