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BRUNO MARSThe Moonshine Jungle Tour
Copyright Lighting&Sound America October 2013 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html
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MoonshineMen Taking Bruno Mars’Moonshine Jungleon TourBy: Sharon Stancavage
Copyright Lighting&Sound America October 2013 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html
The video wall is a 60'-by-24' VLite 18mm, provided by PRG Nocturne, with a letterbox shape that runs the full width of the stage.
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preparing to design Bruno Mars’ TheMoonshine Jungle Tour, Roy Bennettand co-designer Cory FitzGerald, bothof Seven Design Works, realizedsomething important early on. “With
Moonshine Jungle, you can be very literal and be veryjungle,” says Bennett. “When you have a set that takes onthat persona, it is what it is, and you have it for the rest ofthe show, and it doesn’t go away.”
This might become a hindrance, especially with an artistlike Mars, whose catalog includes songs that don’t fiteasily into the moonshine or jungle category. FitzGeraldsays, “Ultimately, we wanted something flexible. Bruno hasa whole other album of songs, and he’s going to performsome of them—so how do you do “Just the Way You Are”in a jungle? That’s one thing we kept coming back to—what we wanted versus what we really needed.”
As a result, the design made a turn away from theliteral. “Bruno is very style-conscious, and I knew hewanted something modern and clean and very high-fashion but also very intimate,” Bennett says. The colorpalette became black and gold; the literal representation of
The Moonshine Jungle is now reflected in part in theopening Kabuki fabricated by Sew What?, of Rancho-Dominguez, California. “It’s a big black-and-gold-appliquépalm tree, which is very modern,” Bennett says. “It lookslike something out of a Gucci store.”
The custom MagDeck stage, which features gold-trimfascia and custom Chromlech Elidy bumpers that houseLED tiles, was fabricated by TAIT, of Lititz,Pennsylvania. “If there’s anything with a lot ofA
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“FitzGerald programmed the showwith Mars himself. ‘We sat theretogether, one-on-one, and pro-grammed; we went through cuesand got everything to his liking.He’s very hands-on and in tune withwhat he wants, just like with hismusic,’ the designer says.”
In
refinement and finish work to it, they’re the ones to doit,” Bennett says. The original design called for severallifts; in the end, there were two. “A lift in brings Brunoup and down for a drum solo; he ends the encore song,‘Gorilla,’ up there.” A lift at downstage center risesapproximately 2' for “Our First Time.”
One especially interesting scenic element appearshalfway into the show, in front of the massive upstagevideo wall. “Originally, the video was automated in thesense that sections would articulate open, but it becametoo expensive,” Bennett says. “However, we thought itwould be good to have something to play in front of thescreens at times, thus creating a different and morecompelling backdrop.”
So it was back to the drawing board, looking for alterna-tives. “Cory came up with the concept; Peter Aquinde, myart director, and I worked on the shape a bit more, and itwent back and forth,” Bennett says. The collapsible unitsupstage of the video wall, which have the feel of palmfronds combined with vertical blinds, were christened “thechevrons.” “There are three sections of chevrons, andthey’re the total width of the stage,” the designer adds. Thechevrons are comprised of 135 formed plastic Kydexshapes and are hung from a standard Austrian curtainsystem. They can be viewed during “Marry You,” “RunawayBaby,” and “Grenade.”
LightingOne very prominent aspect of the design is the ceiling thatencloses the lighting rig over the stage. “As a rule, I hateseeing lighting gear,” Bennett says. The ceiling addssomething unexpected to the show’s look. “We’re basicallydoing a reflection of the stage with the ceiling. It has a very‘70s, high-fashion night club feel to it,” he adds.
Construction of the ceiling was something of a challengefor FitzGerald, who was tasked with making the elaborateset piece roadworthy. “We had a couple of iterations ofhow it was going to work,” he says. “I had the idea ofbasing it off of long trusses as opposed to building eachsquare individually, which would be too time-consuming.”Still, this approach proved to be a challenge for dailytouring. “It is still a process to construct because thetrusses have to connect together to make it lock into placeand raise properly, requiring a number of people anddepartments to make it happen,” he adds.
Inside the ceiling, FitzGerald says, “We picked ClayPaky Sharpy and Sharpy Washes because they’re low-profile, so you can tuck them up in there and still have afull range of motion without needing a giant hole.” Theceiling is also home to Martin Professional MAC ViperProfiles, Philips Vari*Lite VL3500 Wash FX units, and MartinAtomic strobes with color scrollers.
A new item in FitzGerald’s rig is a set of Solaris Flare
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The ceiling is packed with Clay Paky Sharpys and Sharpy Washes as well as Martin Professional MAC Viper Profiles, Philips Vari*LiteVL3500 Wash FXs, and Martin Atomic strobes with color scrollers.
LED strobes, which are used in the air as audienceblinders. (The units are distributed worldwide by TMB.)“They are similar to an Atomic strobe in size but with a1,000W series of LED units inside that are basically a giantblinder floodlight,” he says. “They can be used as strobes,they have full color RGBW color mixing, and they can alsodo pixelation effects. They’re very versatile, and they strobereally, really bright.” In addition, there are five laddersupstage that play an integral role in the production. Each iscomprised of Sharpys, Martin Mac Auras, and MartinStagebar 54s.
“We have two other eyebrow trusses, for lighting theband, that are hidden around the PA,” says FitzGerald.“There are nine of them up there on stage, and it’s veryhelpful to have a lot of light to let them move around anddo choreography; the rig gives us a lot of options forlighting them.”
On the floor, there are more “Sharpys plus GLPimpression X4s, a Novalight Nova Flower, and a fewVL3500 FXs for some specific moments,” FitzGerald says.The Sharpys on the floor are gold [they also come inchrome and white], which ties in to the set’s gold colormotif. Also used are two dozen Robe ROBIN 600s as wellas a half-dozen Sharpy Washes. The lighting rig wasprovided by VER’s Los Angeles office.
Control is provided by two MA Lighting grandMA2 full-
size consoles; interestingly, FitzGerald programmed theshow with Mars himself. “We sat there together, one-on-one, and programmed; we went through cues and goteverything to his liking. He’s very hands-on and in tune withwhat he wants, just like with his music,” the designer says.
“I’ve worked with Bruno long enough that I know whathe needs as far as lighting looks,” FitzGerald says. “It hasnow become more about making sure we connect all theproduction elements, making sure the staging looks right,making sure the band looks right, making sure the videocontent/IMAG works, and so on.” On the road, lightingdirector Dave Marcucci handles the production.
Video and effects“Basically, the video element is the upstage video wall,which is a letterbox shape that runs the full width of thestage. It’s about 60' by 24'—it’s a VLite 18mm, and it’sprovided by PRG Nocturne [of DeKalb, Illinois],” Bennettsays. The screen raises and lowers during the show;automation is via Tait’s Navigator Control System.
Content for the production was created by Tim LaValley,of Battlecruiser Inc., and included input from Bennett andFitzGerald as well as Mars. “It’s a combination of realisticand abstract stuff. There are shots of black panthers, CGImoments of jungles and palm trees, shots of macaws, andso on, with some IMAG mixed in,” Bennett says.
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Each of the five ladders upstage is comprised of Sharpy Profiles, Martin Mac Auras, and Martin Stagebar 54s.
Speaking about content delivery, FitzGerald explains,“We have a very flexible system. Watching the show, itdoesn’t look very complicated, but it’s very dynamic. Wehave an MBox [from PRG] that is controlled by the consolethat feeds content into a Control Freak System, which thendistributes the content wherever we want it.” There arealso two traditional side screens for IMAG. “We do a TV-based effect in the song ‘Treasure,’ so the IMAG is on thescreen behind the band, but it’s made to look like it’s aseries of old-fashioned TVs. So it’s a retro throwback look,and it’s the first time we put IMAG on the screen.”
The production also has an effects contingent, courtesyof Las Vegas-based Pyrotek. “[Mars] wanted a lot ofeffects in the finale, which is ‘Gorilla,’’’ FitzGerald says.“We worked in a lot of pyro gags, flame effects, andconcussion effects into that section of the show. There areconcussion mortars in ‘Natalie,’ flash pots in ‘RunawayBaby,’ and confetti in ‘Locked Out of Heaven.’ We reallysaved the kitchen sink for the encore.”
SoundLike Bennett and FitzGerald, front-of-house soundengineer Derek Brener has been with Mars for severalyears. He first met the singer while working for a localcompany called Gear Connection on a random gig in LA;Mars liked what he heard. “In the summer of 2010, I gotthe call,” Brener says. “Three days into the gig, Bruno saidto me, ‘Don’t go anywhere. You are meant to be here.’ Andhe meant it. I’m still here. Ever since then, he and I havebeen through the trenches together. Bruno never settlesfor ‘good enough,’ and he wants his entire team to feel thesame. For the people who have been there from thebeginning, that feeling comes naturally; we have all sacri-ficed and struggled from the birth of this thing, feeling as if
it is our baby, too.”Another longtime partner with the Mars group is Clair
Global. “The almighty Clair Brothers have provided allaudio and support for us ever since our first major tour,”Brener says. “They promised me they would never let mefail and have never broken that guarantee. With personaland technical support from the entire Clair Brothers familyand vets such as ML Procise, Randy Lane, and HowardPage, how could I fail?”
The main hang consists of 16 Clair i5s (eight 2.5°, four5°, and four 10°) per side, a side hang of 12 i5s per side,and a rear hang consisting of eight i5s (10°) per side. ThePA also includes 12 Clair BT 218 flown subs per side, eightBT 218 ground subs total, and four Clair iMicro front fills.Rounding out the audio team are monitor engineer JamesBerry, monitor tech Erik Rodstol, recording engineerCharles Moniz, and PA techs Austin Dudley and MikeGamble. “I am so grateful for Erik Rodstol,” Brener says.“He is the backbone of the audio team. He’s everyone’sgo-to guy.”
Brener mixes the show on a DiGiCo console. “This timearound, I have an SD7 as opposed to the [SD8] because ofthe larger input requirements,” he says. “We have 108physical inputs, and I still have plenty of capacity foreccentric bussing, effects, and outboard apparatuses.”
The ability to customize the SD7 is a huge advantagefor Brener. “The ‘7 is a monster and gives me a lot offreedom and space to experiment and tweak. It has astaggering amount of features and power. Do you need touse all of the features? Hell, no. Is it nice to have themright there if you need them? Yes. The snapshot recallscope is great, dual engines, dynamic EQs, etc. I can goon and on about the features it offers, but simply put, for adigital desk, it’s the cream of the crop.”
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TAIT engineered the three-piece automated chevron wall from135 formed-plastic Kydex shapes.
The chevron wall was also engineered to be light enough tohang from a standard Austrian system.
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For effects, Brener relies on the Waves Soundgrid, asystem that combines server, SoundGrid-compatibleWaves plug-ins, a Mac or PC control computer, and anI/O, to run a multitude of Waves reverbs, equalizers,compressors, mix tools, and more. “Thanks to CharlesMoniz, our invaluable recording engineer and Pro Toolswizard, who also assists Bruno in the studio, I’ve been wellschooled in the world of Waves,” he says.
Looking at the outboard gear, Brener has threeEmpirical Labs Distressors, which he calls “the bestcompressors on the planet,” as well as TC Electronic’s TC2290 for stereo delay and a Lexicon 960L. “The EL andLexicon units are must-haves for me,” he says. “The EL istruly the Swiss Army knife of compressors. Theyemphasize that round warmth to Bruno when he really digsin. Bruno has incredible mic control, which is a blessingand a curse because when he gets too far away from hismic, he thins out tremendously. I find the Distressorsprovide the best tonal and level consistency applicable tohis style. The Lexicon is the smoothest, most authenticand believable verb, at least to my preferences.”
On stage, there’s a wide variety of microphones, a
situation that suits Brener. “Bruno belongs to no one as faras endorsements go, which is very liberating for exploringall options. Charles Moniz and I took full advantage of thisautonomy. Because of that, we have a cornucopia ofmicrophone choices on deck that we feel give the bestcolor/no color to each individual element. We tried to pickout mics that needed little-to-no EQ for throw-and-go TVsituations, and they just stuck for the tour. We have micro-phones from Sennheiser, Shure, Audio-Technica, DPA,Heil, Opus, and Earthworks, all sharing the stage, playingfriendly, with no prejudices. All DIs are Radial[Engineering].” Brener is a fan of the Earthworks DP30—aperiscope-style drum mic with a near-perfect cardioidpolar pattern. “I don’t think I will ever go without anEarthworks DP30 on the snare rim ever again,” he says.“It’s where the majority of my snare sound comes from. Itcaptures all the little ghost note tricks. Also, the [Audio-Technica] ATM25 is the best tom mic out there.” He adds,“Bruno is on a Sennhesier SKM2000 transmitter with a5235 capsule.”
Summing up, Brener says, “Doing sound for Bruno issurreal. He is a true artist and will be in the game for years.He is one of the most loving, friendly, comedic, creative,clever, complicated, and vivid characters I have everknown. He attracts people of the same mold as well,technical and artistic. He and the band have so muchchemistry that it poses challenging, daunting, yetrewarding feats for me every day. It keeps life interesting. Imust mix like he would mix, think like he would think. Imust climb into his head, his ears, his heart, and producelike him. When it’s right, it’s really, really right.”
The Moonshine Jungle Tour is currently in Europe; Marswill take some time off early in the year before taking theproduction to Australia in February 2014.
Sew What? fabricated the opening Kabuki drop of black-and-gold appliqué palm trees.
The cube-shaped ceiling panels are intended to mimic the stagesurface and offset the show’s lighting rig.
“The [SD7] is a monster and givesme a lot of freedom and space toexperiment and tweak. It has astaggering amount of features andpower. Do you need to use all ofthe features? Hell, no. Is it nice tohave them right there if you needthem? Yes.” — Brener
