One Direction is the boy band of the moment and is presently in the midst of a global tour that began in South America and has now landed in the UK and Europe. This is a full-on stadium tour with all the production values that accompany it.
The hardware for Paul Normandale’s lighting design comes courtesy of Lite Alternative and the followspots, chosen as the first option for both FOH and on truss, are Robert Juliat fixtures.
With a 30 metre thrust stage leading into the centre of the stadium and the most video screen yet to be toured with an artist, the choice of followspot was a key component to a successfully-lit show. There is no front truss and the boys spend most of the set on the thrust or the screamers (runways that extend stage left and right) so the followspots are a vital ingredient in providing key light for the cameras and for the audience.
Rigged on the delay towers mid-stadium are six Robert Juliat 4kW Lancelot followspots (one for each band member and one spare), which have a beautifully even field. An integral frost diffuser in the unit is used to soften the hard edges each time the performers come close together.
The five RJ Flo 1800W followspots are rigged on the upstage edge of the trussing. These were chosen to give back light for the cameras but they are so bright that they can be used as fully functional back spots all the way down to the B-Stage at the end of the thirty metre thrust.
