“A 21st birthday party obviously isn’t complete without a good lighting rig,” quips Sam Parry, production designer for McFly. “A McFly 21st birthday party needs something even more special.”
The 21st birthday party in question was designed over several months, with various ideas brought to the table under the one overarching goal of creating a classic rock n roll show that brought the audience as close to the band as possible – the full party atmosphere at an arena scale. Add in that the show was going to be broadcast to thousands on ITV, the designer was set on Ayrton very early on. “I knew from pretty much the word go that I’d be needing the capabilities of Ayrton units to make this a show to remember,” Parry comments. “The sheer numbers required and the need for versatility made the Ayrton Perseo the obvious choice.”
In total 75 Ayrton Perseo units were enlisted in the rig, which comprised a grand total of 420 fixtures across 2 stages. “The Perseo was the ideal unit to fill out the space and pull the audience right into the show,” explains Parry, noting areas of the rig dedicated specifically to audience immersion. “It was important to me and the band that the audience feel as connected to the show as the band themselves did. I wanted everyone in the O2 to feel included and immersed. The Ayrton Perseos output and range of beam shapes allowed me to get light everywhere it was needed, complementing the colour palette and keeping everyone engaged, as well as holding up against the rest of the rig and our vanish wall.”
The versatile nature of the Ayrton Perseo was also of benefit for the broadcast challenges of the show, the large zoom range and gobo selection allowed the unit to capture the moment to moment atmosphere while still giving the camera a well defined and clean beam shape for grading and broadcast. “It’s very much a tried and true workhorse fixture,” the designer says. “It does exactly what it needs to do, right out of the box and can be trusted to do so every time. There are moments in the show that I have genuinely forgotten that I’m not using two different types of fixture when I can get such tight beams and huge sprawling gobo washes out of the same unit. They really gave me the freedom to create something unique for each song, be that the tight symmetrical beams in songs like “Shine a Light” , the expansive, 80’s inspired looks throughout “Forever’s Not Enough” or the heavily saturated and backlit “Red”. The Ayrton Perseo delivered across the whole show and across a catalogue of 21 years of music; a true testament to its capabilities.”
Parry chose GrandMA3 to control the 3 hour long show, all supplied by 4wall Entertainment. He speaks passionately about his enjoyment of the latest version of software and the stability of the system as a whole, happy to show how much genuine fun is had working within the MA workflow. “I feel truly at home behind one of these consoles,” he says, indicating the GrandMA3 Full Size. “Creating complex dynamic effects has never felt easier, I can create stunning movements and unique transition curves so effectively within the Phaser system; I couldn’t ask for a better workflow.”
Commenting on the resilience of the consoles during the show; “Anyone who’s seen me at a McFly show, or heard my knees after one, knows how much I move around at FOH. There is no timecode, no click in my ears and no production rehearsal, it’s me, the console and the band, knowing their music, their beats and rhythms and keeping up to rock out with them is what makes me love working with McFly so much. Every song is programmed with its own sequence, but every hit, beat and moment is delivered by hand, it keeps me on my toes, literally, and gives the band the freedom to play how they want, whenever they want. This was a two night show and I can safely say that each night was its own unique experience. At this scale, I need to be able to trust my console unconditionally – I trust GrandMA3. I can’t wait to use it this year on the Busted Vs McFly tour!”
The McFly 21st Birthday Show is available to watch on ITVX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUMwUo0t7NU&ab_channel=OfficialMcFly
Credits:
LD: Sam Parry – owl-technical.com
Lighting supplied by 4wall
Photography: Federica Burelli @federicaburelli and Robyn Sully @stars_in_my_lenz
Video Produced by: Gold Dust Films