Elation Professional
Lights Up Staples Center
LOS ANGELES – What do Elation Professional lighting products have in common with the Los Angeles Lakers? Answer: Both have made lightning-quick moves and “rebounded” off backboards in the same arena -- L.A.’s Staples Center.
Elation Professional products provided stunningly dramatic lighting effects at the Staples Center, during a sold-out concert given by award-winning Mexican singer Joan Sebastian on November 29. Not your ordinary music concert, the event featured a Western rodeo theme, with several semi-truckloads of dirt brought into the arena to create an authentic setting.
Following an actual rodeo, complete with bull riders and bronco busters, Sebastian made his grand entrance, riding into the arena on a horse wearing his trademark cowboy attire. Backed by a 30-piece band, the popular Latin performer sang on stage, as well as while moving around the ring astride his horse.
Designing the lighting and special effects for the Sebastian concert presented a real challenge, said Roy Zartman, president of See Factory/Festival Lighting (Buena Park, CA), who served as lighting director for the event. The lighting had to provide enough brightness to fill massive Staples Center, while at the same time handle all of the onstage and offstage motion in the show and work within the rodeo theme.
That’s why Elation fixtures were chosen, said Zartman. The lighting used for the event included twelve DMX moving-head Color Wash-575s, eight DMX moving-head Color Spot-575s, and eight DMX Vision-575 moving-mirror scanners.
“I’ve been working with Elation products for some time, and I knew they could provide what we were looking for in the way of lighting effects,” said Zartman. “With their powerful 575-watt brightness, the Color Wash-575, Color Spot-575 and Vision-575 gave the coverage needed to light up such a large arena. They also provided the fast motion we wanted, as well as a versatile array of colors, patterns and effects that would work with the show.”
The Color Wash-575s and Color Spot-575s were hung in three rows of overhead trussing above the stage area. The front row contained both types of fixtures, while the middle row consisted of Color Washes, and the back row of Color Spots. At the very rear, Zartman set up a scrim area, onto which colors and gobo patterns could be projected.
“Having three rows of truss gave the lighting a textured, layered effect and made it easy to project colors and gobos onto the scrim,” Zartman explained. “We did some nice color play and different patterns on the scrim when Joan Sebastian performed on stage.”
The Color Washes and Color Sports were also used to project outward into the arena and wash the floor with colors and gobos, during times when Sebastian rode his horse around the ring. “One of the gobos is in the shape of a wagon wheel, so it was really perfect for the Western theme,” said Zartman.
The eight Vision 575s were positioned across the floor of the stage to light up Sebastian’s performance from below. The reason Visions were chosen for the floor, Zartman explains, is because their moving mirror is “very, very fast and could keep up with the quick movement on stage. We also liked the fact that the Visions are very compact in size, so they don’t get in the way of the action on stage,” he added.
The Elation fixtures gave a performance that was as sensational and memorable as Sebastian’s, Zartman said. “Elation products have really grown up and were up to the task of a huge production like this,” he commented. “Based on our experience at the Staples Center, we would definitely use them again at a major event like this.”
John Lopez, product manager for Elation Professional, said that his company was thrilled with the exposure its products received at the Staples Center event. “We were honored to have our products used at a world-famous venue like the Staples Center at a concert given by such an esteemed performer as Joan Sebastian,” Lopez remarked. “The fact that our products were chosen for an event of this magnitude is reflective of the professional-caliber quality of Elation lighting.”
For more information about Elation Professional lighting products, contact Elation Professional at 323-582-3322 or visit the company’s website, www.elationlighting.com
For more information about the concert’s lighting installer, See Factory/Festival Lighting, contact Roy Zartman at 714-670-8029 or visit www.seefactory.com