Eric Bartnes
Eric Bartnes is “ still happily employed ” by 54-40 , one of Canada ’ s finest rock bands , and is a multiyear designer for Niagara Falls , ON ’ s annual Winter Festival of Lights , with over 175 fixtures lighting the icy mist at the top of Horseshoe Falls . He also teaches an increasingly popular advanced training course on MA Lighting ’ s grandMA and grandMA2 with media servers .
Brent Clark
Brent Clark had a busy 2017 , lighting the late Gord Downie ’ s Secret Path shows and also designing for and touring with longtime clients like Barenaked Ladies and Stereophonics , the latter of which currently has him out on a U . K . tour . He also designed a recent homecoming show for on-the-rise rock outfit Glorious Sons in Kingston , ON .
Stephan Gotschel
For over a decade , Stephan Gotschel has been touring with RAIN – A Tribute to The Beatles , for which he ’ s currently the lighting , video , and production designer and production manager . He began his career nearly 25 years ago with Canadian a cappella icons The Nylons and has toured with Daughtry , Michelle Wright , The Tea Party , and many others . He was also master electrician for several seasons of Canadian Idol .
Matthieu Larivée
Matthieu Larivée ’ s firm Luz Studio currently does over 50 projects per year , including Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill , the Polaris Music Prize Gala , Gemeaux Prize in Quebec , and others in addition to high-profile corporate gigs . In the music world , Luz had a hand in the latest BORNS tour and is currently collaborating on Jack White ’ s upcoming tour supporting Boarding House Reach .
Steven Smith
A freelance lighting designer , programmer , and technician , Steven Smith has toured alongside the likes of Barenaked Ladies , Marianas Trench , Metric , and Great Big Sea over the years . He ’ s currently keeping busy with a full schedule of corporate gigs in addition to working on the NHL ’ s Stadium Series of outdoor games and their related concerts and events .
PL & P : What ’ s the latest product or piece of technology to hit the market that you ’ ve incorporated into your work with good results , or that you see as a potential game changer for concert and entertainment lighting ?
Bartnes : I don ’ t see any new gear as a “ game changer ”; the trend is brighter and cheaper and that ’ s always welcome . In my field , I don ’ t always get to spec my rig , so in other words , I ’ m gear agnostic . I don ’ t care what the rig is , as long as it works .
Clark : The latest piece of gear would have to be the new Green Hippo media server . I think that ’ s a game changer for me . I am also really into all these little LED lights that are coming on the market . They are very cool and I love the size . I currently have about 64 [ Robe ] Spikies on tour at the moment and I love them .
Also , the way lasers are being done now is a big change . It used to be so very convoluted to tour with them , but now they are a breeze to set up and most of them can be run via DMX .
Gotschel : I haven ’ t really incorporated any revolutionary product in my work lately , aside from moving mostly everything over to LEDs . The fixtures are lighter and use less power . Most of my work takes me to theatres , where I am hanging off of theatre battens . In these cases , weight is a major factor , and with lighter fixtures and less cabling , I find I can hang my entire rig everywhere I go . In the past , this was an issue at times and I would have to scale down the rig to save weight . This also comes into play with the LED walls I carry . They are becoming lighter while resolutions are getting finer . All this results in creating much larger-looking shows and giving the audiences greater experiences .
Larivée : I think that consoles are the biggest game changer . grandMAs have taken over the market with their original series , then 2 series by being able to program multiple matrices and a big quantity of lights . Now , grandMA3 is out because the multi-pixel fixtures are too hard to program . I think that the grandMA3 will define how manufacturers will produce their next fixtures , so for me , this is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle , from rock to opera , everywhere in the world .
Smith : For me , RDM [ Remote Device Management ] is the tool that the industry has been waiting for . It ’ s not fresh off the line new , but it is still fairly rare to come across and manufacturers are doing their best to incorporate it into their products . Once the bulk of fixtures available support it , and as we move over to compatible opto-splitters , I can see it saving a great deal of time and energy both during set-up and for troubleshooting . Being able to easily select all fixtures on my rig and change the mode or address is amazing . The feedback system is great and allows me to quickly see where certain problems are and adjust quickly . The only problem for me right now is that it ’ s a little basic . Many items don ’ t let you access every option through RDM that is available on the display , and it can be a little slow at times on the console end , but I believe as the manufacturers start working on this , hopefully talking to each other a bit , then we will see great improvements as the technology grows .
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