Robe moving lights took centre stage along with an eclectic mix of new and emerging musical talent at Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel venue during the 2015 SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
UK-based Lighting Designer David Wolstenholm was engaged as lighting consultant for the event by Hype Hotel’s Production Designer / Manager Brian Kim. The two previously worked together for Cirque du Soleil productions. David helped create the lighting scheme using the Robe fixtures. He also liaised between any incoming artist LDs and his team which included Assistant LX Eric Kim and Lighting Intern, Lila Neiswanger.
Hype Hotel featured two live sessions a day with five artists per session, complete with lightening quick changeovers, so the lighting requirements were extremely demanding. David likened the incredible vibe of this truly unique event to the craziness and buzz of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and he thoroughly enjoyed his own challenging SXSW experience for the second year.
One of the biggest tasks was to ensure that each artist had their very own lightshow, a job made infinitely easier this year with so many Robe moving lights involved in the high profile venue run by the popular music blogging / aggregator site.
This year’s all-action array of show-stopping live performances included Spoon – fresh from winning the 2015 SXSW Grulke Prize for Career Act and headed by local hero Britt Daniel, who brought the house down with their show on Thursday.
Others were ILoveMakonnen Rae Sremmurd, Hudson Mohawke, Best Coast, Odesza and may more, with banging DJ sets from Fort Romeu, Obey City, Heathered Pearls, Monster Rally, Ellie Herring and much more.
On the rig were 8 x Robe BMFL Spots, 7 x Pointes, 7 x LEDBeam 100s, 10 x LEDWash 1200s – six overhead and four for side light – plus 8 x CycFX 8s which were rigged in the roof and angled back to provide a very cool ceiling light effect.
The DJ booth was lit with four Robe miniPointes and two LEDBeam 1000s, and there were also seven MiniMes in the VIP bar area, loaded with custom Hype Hotel video content, which provided a neat and easy solution to brand the area effectively.
The BMFLs proved exceptionally powerful for the compact-sized venue with just 3 meters of headroom, with four positioned on the overhead rig and four on the floor, where they were the only fixtures. They were used for all the high impact moments.
Two LEDWash 1200s were also the principal side key lighting which is very much part of the raw and moody Hype Hotel lighting aesthetic. Side keys increased the intimacy of the presentation and avoided any scrappy light spillage across the stage where it’s not wanted which can be an issue with traditional above stage front lighting positions.
The tiny LEDBeam 100s were placed at the back of stage tucked in between the gaps of an upstage wall of PARs to break up the uniformity of this effect and also provide a stark in-the-face contrast look for the audiences. David describes the LEDBeam 100 as a “Wonderful little unit’ and in particular loves the precise, almost PC-esque quality of the beam and its long optical columns, together with the “Huge amount’ of punch for the size. Their fast movement was perfect for the noisier acts and some of the DJ sets!
The CycFX 8s were the stars of the show in some ways, primarily because of the gently raked celling positioning which looked fantastic in all the wide camera shots and made “very cool’ eye-candy for the crowds, and it’s more unusual to see them used in this context.
The Hype Hotel enjoyed another massively successful year at SXSW which (SXSW Film, Music and Interactive combined) is the highest annual revenue-producing event for the Austin economy.
Photos : Jesse DeFlorio
