“When we designed it we did keep cost efficiency in mind,” Sutherland says, “but we also needed lights that we knew could survive night after night, six nights a week and maintain its punch and not go down or have to be re-lamped. With no followspots to man and the majority of the show time-coded, only one person is needed to run Celestia, a good example of the cost management necessary in staging a successful Vegas show. Nick Hansen was my boots on the ground the majority of the time and did a great job as did Hunter Selby. It took a while to finesse the lighting as you only get it right by watching performance after performance and taking a lot of notes. “We’d create a lighting look then we always sat with the talent to look it through to make sure we weren’t blinding them. On a circus-type show like Celestia, where many of the acts are performing risky manoeuvrers, Sutherland says he had to be especially mindful of the lighting positions. Used for floor gobo looks and much of the key lighting, Sutherland says that although not the latest fixture to hit the market, the Platinum Spots have proven to be a good workhorse light. Other moving heads join the DARTZ in the rig, including 57 Elation Platinum Spot 35 coloor and graphics fixtures that occupy the tent’s four main poster poles, overhead truss and centre truss cupola. I always love something that gives me an added bang for my buck.” “I really don’t know how they managed to fit so much into something so little. Sutherland says the DARTZ has been one of his favourite luminaires over the past 18 months and has used them on several projects including US television’s Dancing with the Stars. They really were magical within that environment.” The first time I saw it, I wasn’t expecting the whole room to fill with effects! Especially for huge silhouette moments and nice endings for the artists, they literally provide that canvass, filling the air and literally taking off into the galaxy. “When you drop the prisms in the DARTZ, you create a galaxy in the sky. They look really bright and fill the space really well.”ĭescribed as ‘an exhilarating journey across the universe,’ Celestia has an otherworldly theme and dreamlike element to it, something Sutherland echoed using effects from the DARTZ fixtures. “The prism and the twinkle effects from the DARTZ are just perfect to create a visible wall of light or to fill the air with stars and twinkle. “I wanted to create a type of light curtain between the back of the set where the artists enter and exit and then coming forward,” Sutherland describes. Thirty-two DARTZ 360 beam/spot units curve across the back of the set and serve as key visual effects throughout the show. As part of the improvements, DX7 Design purchased Elation DARTZ 360 LED moving heads to mount on the semi-circle truss to wrap the stage in 180 degrees of lighting effect. #Celestia show professionalI think we put it all together in under a month.”Ĭreated by executive producer Brian Burke and live-production company Intrigue Shows, Celestia is a galactic journey filled with daring acrobatics, athletic dance, and aerial feats, all told through live music and cutting-edge technology that includes Elation Professional lighting effects. “We stripped out some rigging, put in some extra upstage positions and built a big semi-circle truss around the back, which is the centrepiece of the entire set really. “They had brilliant acts and a state-of-the-art theatrical tent but there was no real glue or production value,” Sutherland states, explaining that the new creative team only had a few weeks to implement their ideas, which included an extra build and additional lighting fixtures. The LD entered the project somewhat late as part of a creative team hired a relatively short time prior to opening night to ‘cast their eyes over the production’ and enhance the show’s look. With a troupe of world-class performers highlighted by an otherworldly lighting design by Tom Sutherland of DX7 Design, the fast-moving circus-style production is a carnival of thrills not to mention a family affordable Strip alternative. USA – After debuting last year at The STRAT in Las Vegas, Celestia, a Cirque du Soleil-type entertainment show, has emerged as one of the city’s top North Strip attractions.
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