Adam Hills, Alan Brough and Myf Warhurst have been touring the country with Spicks and Specktacular.
A stage show loosely based on a comedic music quiz, Spicks and Speck-tacular features games from the show ramped up for the stage and the whole show is rocked along by a live band led by Myf’s big brother Kit.
trafficlight were chosen as the production management and lighting design team for the tour, a important undertaking for them due to the challenge of incorporating numerous, multidimensional activities within a tight schedule.
The production focus for this live extravaganza included combining live performance, audience participation and several exaggerated props to create a smooth running, successful event.
The lighting, a combination of moving heads, moving mirrors and conventionals, was designed by trafficlight’s Niklas Pajanti. The Jands Vista application running on a Mac Book and a Jands' Vista M1 Control Surface were used for control.
The Jands Vista gear is owned by Hamish Clift, who was assistant stage manager and head lighting tech on the tour. Hamish Clift purchased his Vista App and M1 six months ago. The Vista App enables him to duplicate all the functions of the Vista lighting console on his Mac Book.
The fixture icons even provide a basic visualisation of the show, so he can use it to design and build shows at home or on the road. The Vista M1 is an compact playback-only Vista control surface that is often described as the console in your back pocket.
With five playbacks including faders and flash buttons, plus a rotary master fader, the M1 is a complete and portable Vista playback module. With the Vista System Hamish can program a light show in advance on his Mac Book and then simply attach his M1 to control the playback of his show.
“I wanted a console that was easy to tour with and preferably a Mac-based solution,” Hamish remarked.
“The M1 playback wing is tiny and fits into my hand luggage; the combination is excellent for touring around the country. From a lighting design point of view, the visual orientation of the Vista software is really good because you have all of your colours, gobo rotation right there in front of you.
"The way you add clips is very handy and easy to use. Coming from a theatre background, I’m using it with theatrical knowledge in a rock’n’roll environment which is excellent – best of both worlds.”
“The Jands Vista is a lot different from many other consoles and it takes a bit of getting used to but once you’ve done so, it’s very fast and easy to use. The entire operating system is completely different; the way it controls moving lights and the visual representation of everything is just excellent. You have a picture of what you see instead of numbers which is very nice.”