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ACT Productions and IPS Light Orange Bowl Halftime Show and Fan Fest with Elation

The halftime show and fan fest were lit using Elation lighting rigs, ncluding fixtures from the company's PROTEUS and PULSE Series.

Miami Beach-based ACT Productions of Miami Beach celebrated its 17th year producing the Orange Bowl, handling artist bookings and producing the Halftime Show and Fan Fest. The company partnered with Illuminate Production Services (IPS) as its lighting vendor on the productions, using Elation lighting fixtures.

The Capital One Orange Bowl, held on January 9 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, saw country music star Nate Smith headline the halftime show while country artist Lauren Alaina performed a tailgate concert at the Fan Fest stage.

The halftime show and fan fest were lit using Elation lighting rigs, including fixtures from the company's PROTEUS and new PULSE Series. ACT Productions handled everything from concept to completion, including the specification of the lighting and sound packages.

Carlos Henao, technical director at ACT, says, "The Orange Bowl Halftime Show is unlike any other event in the entertainment world. In a matter of minutes, five to be precise, our audio, lighting, and staging teams have to build a 'set' that will entertain and wow the thousands of fans in the stadium but also the millions of fans on TV. This is no easy task. The planning and execution of those plans can make or break the outcome." He adds, "IPS delivered results that wowed everyone -- the artist, our client, and the college football fans who watched. We are proud to have partnered up with IPS."

The halftime show lighting design was led by Caleb Franke, with support from Michael Betancourt, both from IPS. Betancourt also handled the design for the Fan Fest stage. Explaining the logistical challenges, Bruce Orosz, CEO of ACT Productions, says, "Right when the last play of the first half ends, the referee throws his red cap onto the ground, which begins a 22-minute clock. That's our signal to start moving all the staging, preset with lighting, through the tunnel and out onto the field. This year, we brought the stage out in four parts plus additional lighting setups on truss systems that flew in stage right and left. Everything had to be out, assembled, plugged in, and tested in five minutes. It's a complicated maneuver."

Franke, adds, "There are certain parameters we have to stick to in order to get the stages through the stadium tunnels and on the field in less than five minutes. Designing with very specific limitations and parameters is always something I enjoy because I feel I can be more creative. I see them not as limitations but as opportunities."

IPS designed a fresh, multi-layered look for this year's halftime show. "When designing, I wanted the set to have depth and elevation," Franke says. "The depth came by having 16 PULSE PANEL FX in the background attached to the upper 100 level of the stadium. This created an opportunity for big hits of color and wash throughout the show. It gave the camera lens something to see in the background which added a lot of depth and the PULSE PANEL's 100,000 lumens of punch was spectacular!"

Franke calls the PULSE series "killer," adding. "Each light is almost like having three fixtures -- the RGB plates, the RGB center strobe line, and the white strobes. Having the PULSE BARs and PULSE PANEL FX allowed me to have them work together and they punch very well." He notes that the units look good on camera. One fun look featured the use of all the cold white strobes of the PULSE PANEL FX and PULSE BAR. "It seriously lit up the stadium and made it look huge."

The design featured IP-rated moving heads from Elation's PROTEUS line, including MAXIMUS, EXCALIBUR, HYBRID MAX, and RADIUS.

On the field, Franke designed a three-tiered look in stage width and height: the downstage deck for the lead singer, the middle deck for the band, and upstage deck lighting via three tiers of lights. Beam and aerial effects from PROTEUS HYBRID MAX emanated from the top row with aerial beams from PROTEUS RADIUS radiating from the bottom two rows. Each row also had eight PULSE BARs in groups of two for a total of 24 fixtures forming the visual background for the band. "We were able to achieve elevation with the tiers and also it created a great background of eye candy behind the band and artist," the designer says. Located on the downstage edge of the artist's risers as kickers to help light the performance were SIXBAR 1000 IP battens.

The upper deck of fixtures formed the main element of the design. "We were able to get great beam and gobo looks with the RADIUS and HYBRID MAX, as well as amazing color and lighting hits with the PULSE BARs," Franke says. "Having the PULSE PANELs in the upper background and the PULSE BARs down on the stage was fantastic. The fixtures play well together and look great together."

On the field, a truss cart on either side of the stage held five PROTEUS RAYZOR BLADE L linear effects and six PROTEUS EXCALIBURs each, with five RAYZOR BLADE L on the artist deck. The truss carts added width to the overall look of the show, Franke says. Lastly, 12 PROTEUS MAXIMUS on the 300 level of the stadium provided the main key light for the stage. "We also highlighted some of the logo graphics on the field with them," Franke adds. "The MAXIMUS is such a bright, smooth, and reliable fixture."

"This year, we bulked up lighting on the third level and flew trusses full of lights stage right and left, adding depth and enhancing the visual impact," Orosz says. He added that lighting also came from the front-of-house on the opposite side of the field and down onto the stage, changing the look and feel and matching up beautifully with the music.

Franke says that big beam looks using HYBRID MAX, RADIUS, and EXCALIBURs were some of his favorites. "When the strobes and color wash are off and it's just the beams shooting out, it looks amazing. We used this near the end of the show with a big beam sweep at the end. One thing about the RADIUS...they are fast! They can be a serious workhorse with that speed and the beam is so crisp and clean. Of course, it has a great set of prisms, gobos, frosts, and colors."

Henao notes, "The offerings from the PROTEUS lines are powerful and impactful. The 50,000-plus lumens available from the MAXIMUS fixtures meant that we could reduce our footprint yet deliver ample lighting on the artist and band for the broadcast. The PULSE PANEL FX fixtures were bright, unique, and low profile, and the RADIUS, HYBRID MAX and Elation fixtures used onstage had the punch to project out of the stadium and add great impact to the show. Altogether, the show looked 'larger' than the footprint suggested, and all involved were proud to have been a part of it!"

Lauren Alaina's pre-game fan fest concert featured Elation's PROTEUS RAYZOR 760 wash effects moving head, PROTEUS LUCIUS profile moving heads, and DTW Blinder 700 IP. Lighting control came courtesy of an Obsidian NX2 console with NETRON nodes, used on both the halftime show and fan fest, ensuring reliable signal distribution. Atmospheric haze effects from Magmatic THERMA TOUR 800s were also employed.

WWWwww.elationlighting.com

WWWwww.actproductions.com


(3 March 2025)

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