P!NK’s Beautiful Trauma tour is a visual extravaganza filled with meaningful music, numerous feats of athleticism and unique props. The team behind it, including Creative Director/Production Designer Baz Halpin of Silent House Productions along with Associate Lighting Designer/Programmer Eric Marchwinski of Early Bird Visual, relied on RC4 Wireless products to help create their vision for P!NK. “We required all of the vendors that were delivering props that included a wireless element to use RC4 products,” explains Marchwinski.
Wireless dimming that operates reliably throughout the world was a requirement for P!NK, since the tour travels from the US to the Pacific Rim. The P!NK production team is using the RC4Magic S3 2.4SX dimmers that are optimized for use in every nation. Marchwinski asserts: “We require a wireless system that is reliable, flexible, and easily expandable as we build the tour. RC4 products allow for multiple vendors to build props or set pieces, and upon arrival onsite, everything can communicate seamlessly. The RC4 products are built for theatrical and practical applications, and the product was built with so many of these needs in mind. The functionality and form factor, coupled with the wireless toolset/multi device management make RC4 unparalleled for any show environment with abundant wireless needs.”
Eight lamp posts that take the stage throughout this high flying circus-like extravaganza are controlled via RC4Magic S3 2.4SX DMX4dim-500’s; the units provide four channels of dimming, function from 6 volts DC all the way up to 35 volts DC and feature high resolution, 19 bit dimming. Eagle AVL and StageWorks collaborated to create the lamp posts that grace the stage. “For P!NK, Eagle AVL started developing the street lamp post LED effect with StageWorks, and made the RC4 Wireless recommendations,” explains Eagle AVL Lighting Department Director/Lighting Designer Felix Torres.
The production also uses RC4Magic S3 2.4SX DMXio-HG Data Transceivers with an external antenna to deliver a universe of data to the massive chandelier. This isn’t your grandmother’s chandelier; it’s the central acrobatic piece for P!NK’s aerial performance and flies through the air throughout the show. The DMXio-HG’s are used to control several hundred LEDs imbedded into the piece to ensure it shimmers for the duration of the performance. The DMXio-HG Transceivers–with the external antenna option–gives users top of the line security and reliability in the most challenging wireless environment, and does so in distances up to 300’ (91 meters). Marchwinski notes, “We have used RC4 Wireless products on many large shows before and our experiences have always been very successful. The support we receive from James [Smith, President and Chief Product Developer] and Sean [Dane, Applications Specialist] has been outstanding.”
Like Marchwinski, Torres is a longtime RC4 Wireless client. “I have used RC4 units for various theatrical shows in Puerto Rico in the past 3 to 5 years, as well as in multiple concerts and corporate events in the USA, and I can honestly say, that after many years working with wireless DMX, RC4 is by far the best, most stable and flawless product in the market,” Torres concludes. RC4 Wireless is also the only firm in the industry that offers a lifetime warranty for RC4 Magic products like those on tour with P!NK.
“When Silent House and Early Bird get together you know something spectacular is in the works. We love seeing what they come up with and playing a role in bringing their vision to life. No matter what the next project brings, we will be here, ready to meet the challenge,” reflects Dane.
P!NK, her Beautiful Trauma tour and the RC4 Wireless gear are currently down under in Australia.
