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CONCERTS Copyright Lighting&Sound America June 2015 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html HoneymoonThe On her first major tour, Ariana Grande gives her Phase fans what they’re looking for By Sharon Stancavage 56 • June 2015 • Lighting&Sound America Kuroda’s lighting rig works in perfect harmony with the lavender confetti seen during “The Way.” he’s one of the greatest singers of all time—I’ve 9mm LED wall, provided by VER’s Los Angeles office. been doing this for 26 years, and there are very Director Richy Parkin, one of Gratton’s team, explains, “S few artists who can actually sing. She’s one of “For the camera package we are using the Grass Valley them.” So says production designer/manager Chris 3ME HD switcher with five Sony HXC-100 and four Gratton. “She” is Ariana Grande, and The Honeymoon Panasonic AW-HE120KP PTZ cameras. Catalyst is the Tour is her first major tour. server we are using to run the two layers of content. All Gratton became involved with Grande when her signals run through the [Grass Valley] Kayak switcher and manager, Scooter Braun, asked him to head up his touring get distributed via the desk’s aux matrix, allowing us full division. Gratton accepted, and the first project out of the video versatility.” The majority of the video content is gate was Grande’s show. “She was extremely involved in provided by Nick Militello, of Los Angeles-based It Factor; the production, and she gave all of us direction,” Gratton Parkin created the rest. confides. Gratton explains, “The set design was based on giving Working along with Gratton in the early phases of the enough open areas for the dancers. There are so many project was set and show director Nick DeMoura; later, times that I’ve seen shows where there’s no flow for the Chris Kuroda came on board to assist with the production artist and dancers, because there are only a few entrances and lighting design. They created a multi-tiered stage with and exits. We have ten entrances and exits off the stage, geometric shapes with WinVision Air 9mm fascias. “When and we also have three lifts and elevators and four you’re looking at the entire stage as a whole, we can do toasters. So there are actually 17 entrances and exits.” cascading video tricks with the layers of video on the stair The stage and lifts are provided by SGPS ShowRig. fascias,” explains Kuroda. As the scenic design developed, Gratton says, “Scooter Photos: Todd Kaplan Photos: Todd Located upstage is a 56' x 24' bi-parting WinVision Air wanted more layers, so we went from a three-layer stage www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • June 2015 • 57 CONCERTS Lasers and CO2 jets from Strictly FX add drama to the production. to five layers. Because [Grande is] selling so well, we pods. “The smaller diamonds live inside the bigger shrank a little bit, just to open up sight lines. We’re [in an diamonds, and they are hung a little lower to create a end-stage configuration] and we started at 210°; we’re at chandelier-type vibe,” the lighting designer says. There are 230° or 240° now.” 12 pods in the rig; Kuroda added four medium-sized Much to the delight of her fans, Grande takes to the air diamond pods to fill in the spaces over the stage. The rig during the production. “The fly gags are very important to also includes several straight trusses. He notes, “We her; at one point, we tried to ask her to let them go and wanted to be clever about the way we distributed the she wouldn’t,” Kuroda confides. During “Best Mistake,” lighting, so certain pods have certain fixtures, while others the LED wall parts in the center, and Grande flies above have different fixtures, to keep things less cluttered.” the stage on a cloud via a SGPS fly system; a bit later, Kuroda also likes to keep his lighting instruments during “Right There,” the wall parts again and she appears focused—so to speak—so his gear list isn’t a garage sale on an ornate LED-laden chandelier. “After Ariana comes of fixtures. “I like to have four or five instruments that have down to the stage through the chandelier, it goes back up the functionality that I’m looking for and stick to that,” he in the air, and becomes a scenic piece for the next couple says. Consequently, he is using Clay Paky A.Leda B-EYE of songs,” Kuroda adds. K-20s, Robe BMFLs, Robe Pointes, and Philips Vari*Lite VL3500 Spots. “The VL3500 Spots were specifically Lighting spec’d to be stage key light because of the shutter The automation in the rig naturally affected the lighting. function, and they worked out great,” he says. Lighting Kuroda says, “We had to design the lighting rig around the was supplied by VER. air space that the fly gags were going to take up, and we The B-EYE is an important element of the lighting rig. had to be very careful with the placement. I had to work Kuroda comments, “The cool thing about the B-EYE is it with SGPS, going off of their plot to see where I could does double-duty—it’s a wash light and has all that pixel place lighting trusses and lighting fixtures.” functioning, so we wrote a ton of pixel effects when they Since Grande is a fan of diamonds, Kuroda designed were called for. When we need it to be a wash light, it is a the lighting rig to include small and large diamond-shaped wash light.” Kaplan Photos: Todd 58 • June 2015 • Lighting&Sound America “Bang Bang,” the first song of the show, includes pyro on the stage and on the WinVision video wall. Kuroda isn’t a fan of the full beam B-EYE look, when really it’s an LED block source that can strobe.” however: “When the entire fixture is on, it looks too big Also, Kuroda says, “We have roughly 170 Martin Rush and chunky to me. So when we use it as a wash light, we PARs, all dedicated as truss toners. We’ve also written take the outer ring of 18 pixels out, and that gives it a effects for them and created wipes to and from the stage.” much smaller, cleaner look in the air.” The production also includes glowing RF-controlled LEDs The B-EYEs are among the shin kickers Kuroda has from Glow Motion Technologies, which resemble cat ears placed at stage right and stage left, as are Solaris Flares, and are worn by audience members and, occasionally, by distributed by TMB. The latter gave Kuroda and his lighting Grande herself. team—associate designer Andrew Giffin and lighting Working closely with Kuroda was Giffin, who brought director Nick Van Nostrand—something unexpected. another artistic view to the project, thanks to his theatrical Kuroda says, “There are four Solaris Flares on each side; background. “I have always been a huge believer that the we thought we’d do strobe effects, and there’s a bunch of more sets of eyes, and the more heads, the better your B-EYEs in them that are for side washes. In the middle of final result is going to be,” says Kuroda. The pair programming, Nick looked at the Solaris Flares and said, programmed the show on two MA Lighting grandMA2 ‘They’re LEDs, they’re not strobes, they’re not going to consoles. fizzle out. Just turn them on and use them as light’.” During pre-viz, designers usually find a color palette A metaphorical light went on over Kuroda’s head; he did that suits the songs. This time, it was a bit more a quick test, and indeed, the Solaris Flare can be used as challenging, Kuroda notes: “Coloring this show was the an actual light, rather than simply as a strobe. “And all of a most difficult job I’ve ever had. We really, really had to sudden, we had a new trick up our sleeve,” he says. “It’s a think about it. It was a fantastic challenge—I embraced it wonderful light, it gives great coverage, it’s bright, it can and loved every minute of it.” put out nice saturated colors, and it punches—and it’s a Key to the process was Grande herself, who had very different look. It makes you wonder why they market it as specific ideas in regards to her songs. “There is a part of a strobe light, because just by saying those words, it the show that she refers to as ‘the 1920s’,” Kuroda says. ingrains it into the designer’s head that it’s a strobe light, “It includes the songs ‘Right There,’ ‘The Way,’ ‘Pink www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • June 2015 • 59 CONCERTS Top: Video, confetti “snow,” low smoke, and Kuroda’s lighting set the mood for the ballad “My Everything.” Below: SGPS provided the automation that allows Grande to fly during “Best Mistake.” 60 • June 2015 • Lighting&Sound America Champagne,’ and ‘Tattooed Heart.’ We would go back and features Confetti Cobra blowers from the ground. During forth and would write these songs over and over again, the ballad “My Everything,” Grande sits upon a grand trying to get the color schemes right.” Grande kept piano, with low smoke from four Strictly FX LSG units pushing them, and eventually, they found a palette that gently caressing her feet and tiny pieces of white “snow,” reflected her aesthetic. “These songs came out looking so from ten Strictly FX Deer Feeder confetti machines, falling good in my opinion—the color schemes are so fantastic— dramatically to the floor.