Martin Thomas of Relentless Lighting Design is using Martin's new Stagebar 54^TM LED luminaire on Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Jill Scott's Spring 2008 tour. On the road in support of her new release, "The Real Thing," the first leg of the U.S. tour runs February to April 2008, before scheduled dates in Europe and Asia. Creative Stage Lighting Co., Inc. (North Creek, NY) is the tour lighting vendor, with additional tour support from Masque Sound and a kabuki system from FRAGOSO, Inc. (Sagle, ID).

Martin designed the show in Vectorworks 11 and programmed the system on the Avolites Diamond 4 Vision console. The lighting system includes Martin MAC 700 and 2000 Profile fixtures, along with the Stagebar 54 LED units. Vari*Lite VL 3500 Wash fixtures, ETC Source 4 Ellipsoidals and MR-16 Zip Strips round out the system design.

Stagebar 54

Martin's multiple roles included lighting and set design duties as well as lighting programming. "The show is based on classic concert principals - lighting accents and precise cue timing, as well as extremely saturated palettes," he comments.

Martin uses four Stagebar 54's as skirt toners for the band risers; two to uplight the offstage soft goods and two as a ground wash for the drum/percussion area. The Stagebar LED functions as either a pixel bar for displaying imagery or as a wash luminaire for floodlighting surfaces. With five colored diodes (Red, Green, Blue, Amber and White) instead of the usual three, the Stagebar offers a broader range of colors.

"The Stagebar 54 color rendition and output is superior to other products I have used," Martin says, "and with the large amount of soft goods being used in the set design, being able to illuminate them evenly and with the correct amount of luminescence is what makes this show stand out from the recent trend of ‘flash harder and brighter' effects-based shows that are directed at the audience."

"Jill is very specific in that she dislikes her audience to spend most of the evening avoiding glaring lights - this show is about illuminating the artists and the set in beautiful colors and patterns.

"The StageBar 54's have an intensity and color saturation that is perfect for this production - being able to create multiple moods using color helps translate the performance of the artist and her words - an extremely important part of her performance - to the furthest reaches of the venues, which range from 2000 capacity theaters to large arenas."

Workhorse MACs

Martin uses 12 MAC 700 Profiles upstage in a tier configuration to replicate a wall of light - their focus creating an additional impact that is more "atmospherically architectural" than the look created with the uplights that focus primarily to the layers of soft goods. And because there is no video on this show, the upstage center area is graphically represented with light, Martin states. Five MAC 700's are located in a half circle truss over downstage center and are used to frame Jill Scott. The remaining 700's are positioned to add linear definition to the stage area and to accent multiple solos by the other artists.

"I have always been a fan of Martin products because of their reliability and excellent light output," Martin comments. "The MAC 700's are the workhorse of this tour, with most of the structure and definition of the stage area being created with them. The optical effects (zooms, effects and patterns) allow for multiple looks to be generated using the truss structure in a static position."

Because of their excellent zoom capabilities and beam effects, four MAC 2000 Profiles are used downstage to produce animated graphics on the band and soft goods across the stage. Challenges have been few, Martin reports. "I enjoy using the Martin product because of its past reliability on my previous tours.

Jill Scott is planning to tour Europe and Asia later in the year. "I am expecting to have this rig overseas as well. It is very easy to replicate by overseas vendors, is extremely cost-efficient and very appropriately classic for her show," he concludes.

Equipment list:
21 x Martin MAC 700 Profile
4 x Martin MAC 2000 Profile
8 x Martin Stagebar 54
15 x VariLite VL3500 Wash (9 on Floor)
4 x 6 foot MR-16 Striplights with Hanging Clamps
15 x Source Four 19 Degree 750w Ellipsoidals
2 x 12" x 6' 90degree Curved Truss Sections (to create D/S Half Circle)
18 x 10'x18" Box Truss (2x 50' spans; 2x 30' spans; 2x 10' wings)
11 x 10'x 12" Box Truss (5x U/S Curtain Truss; 5x M/S Curtain Truss; 1x Cable Bridge)
1 x 24 x 2.4K Dimmer Rack
1 x Avolites Diamond 4 Vision Console
2 x DMX Opto-Splitters
6 Active 1 Ton Motorpoints
9 Active 1/2 Ton Motorpoints
6 Active 1/4 Ton Motorpoints
2 Active Block & Fall cable picks
4x 6' Steel Cable Points for 2x Under hung 30' Trusses suspended from U/S Truss
1x DF 50 Atmospheric Hazer w/ fans
4x Stations Headset Communications

Soft Goods:
1 x 50'w x 25'h Deep Violet Velour Curtain
2 x 10'w x 25'h Grey Velour Curtains
4 x 8'w x 25'h Grey Velour Curtains
2 x 50' Tab Track (Single Pull)
1 x 50'x 25'h Custom Scrim
1 x 50'x 25'h Opening Act Black