Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Avolites is the Brilliant Choice for Slightly Stoopid Tour

23/10/2019

Avolites is the Brilliant Choice for Slightly Stoopid Tour posted: 22/10/2019

Slightly Stoopid's live show

Pulse Lighting supplies Sapphire Touch lighting control console paired with new Synergy and Ai software for band's latest North American trek

If there were an award given to the band combining the most eclectic mix of musical genres, San Diegos Slightly Stoopid would be an ideal contender for the prize. Blending a fusion of folk, rock, reggae, dub and blues with hip-hop, funk, psychedelic, metal and punk, Slightly Stoopid has steadily grown its devoted fan base since Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell signed the group to his Skunk Records label in the mid-'90s. Celebrated for its relentless touring and engaging live shows, the band has been out on the road for a good chunk of 2019 in support of its 13th and most recent album, Everyday Life, Everyday People.

Pulse Lighting's Daniel Grabus manning the Avolites Sapphire Touch console and Synergy/Ai software package on tour with Slightly Stoopid

To visually bring its shows to life in concert, Slightly Stoopid now turns to Pulse Lighting, which supplies a full complement of Avolites gear, including a Sapphire Touch console, Ai software, and the lighting manufacturer's new Synergy feature set.

Every design starts with a conversation. The more we interact with our artists, the better the design translates, says Mikey Cummings of Pulse Lighting.

As a lead designer at Pulse's Nashville headquarters, Cummings has designed for a long list of Grammy-award-winning artists, including Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, and Old Crow Medicine Show. Every tour he designs goes out with Avolites control.

A majority of our tours use the Sapphire Touch, Arena, or Tiger Touch II, he says. With lots of video, color-mixing lasers, and LEDs in Slightly Stoopid's design, we knew this would be a great opportunity to dive into Avolites' new Synergy software alongside the Ai software we were already planning to use.

One thing he didn't mention right away-the version of Synergy they used was still in beta.

I feel like the future embraces the bold; it's hard to be on the cutting edge if you don't take chances.

Slightly Stoopid's live show

Edgy is a good description of the artist. Born in the super-laid-back surf town of Ocean Beach on the outskirts of San Diego, Slightly Stoopid has been mixing genres for 25 years, since the band members were in high school. That blend of styles lends itself to an eclectic show in terms of visuals.

Pulse Lighting is a full-service, design-build company, Cummings says. We take our clients from the initial design all the way through the tour. First, we design and do virtual programming in one of our visualization suites, and then we hang it in our rehearsal space for live programming. We are constantly updating our inventory with carefully selected, state-of-the-art equipment, as our purchases are based specifically on our designs. With each design, we implement some type of new technology or custom fabrication, as well. We consider ourselves more of a boutique design firm.

It always helps when the designer is not just familiar with the band's music but is truly a fan, like Cummings, who volunteered for the project when the band's management approached Pulse President Paul Hoffman, the longtime lighting designer for jam-band pioneers Widespread Panic. Pulse's first collaboration with Slightly Stoopid was the band's signature Closer To The Sun festival in Mexico last year.

Slightly Stoopid's live show

We designed the rig for their Mexico festival. After its success, they asked us to do some one-off designs for festivals and shows in the spring. Basically, we were creating independent lighting designs for each show based upon what local vendors could provide. They were pleased with everything we had done, so they asked us to present a full lighting design for their summer tour.

Providing a complete touring package from Pulse inventory enabled Cummings and Programmer and Lighting Director Dan Grabus to assemble a dream setup with the Ai software and the new Synergy package integrating seamlessly with the Avolites Sapphire Touch console used for control. While the design was a little lighter on LED fixtures than Cummings initially preferred, it was heavy on lasers.

Synergy works really well with the lasers, which we didn't expect, he says. We have four 30-watt lasers upstage and six crowd-scanning Phenoms on the downstage truss, all provided by Lightwave. This achieves a 3D look between the lasers and video, which project the same color and intensity patterns, creating a lot of depth.

Slightly Stoopid's live show

One of the things that we really like about Ai is how easy it is to manipulate and merge clips together within a layer. Instead of having to crop things in some outboard, third-party software and then bring it back, we are able to manipulate static images and content right on board.

Instead of using physical servers, they opted to use the Ai software license dongle, which Grabus could easily transport to any gig.

The great thing about Ai is that you can patch 256 universes of pixels-thats an amazing amount of added fixtures, says Cummings. Then, when using Synergy, it becomes a virtual part of the effect engine, like its a plug-in in your pixel mapper. It's seamless and works absolutely fantastic.

Cummings and Grabus report that they were overall impressed with the functionality during programming and operation. Whatever Avolites has done in designing Synergy, the Pulse team says they have done it very well.

Using Synergy, the console is actually triggering the video server through an integrated plug-in type of relationship. Everything is on the console-you can see all of your video clips and everything
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/shows/avolites-brilliant-choice-sl...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

14/03/2025

Avid Appoints New CTO, Adds to Its Executive Leadership Team

BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid has expanded its executive leadership team (ELT) with the appointment of three experienced executives: Tom Sharma as chief technology off...

14/03/2025

TVU Networks Celebrates 20 Years of Innovation at 2025 NAB Show

CUPERTINO, Calif. TVU Networks, a pioneer in live video production and a leader in cloud-based media solutions, is marking its 20th anniversary at the 2025 NAB ...

13/03/2025

You Will Leave Opus Singing the Original Bops Performed by John Malkovich

(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...

13/03/2025

How Spotify Is Driving Growth, Discovery, and Innovation in the Audiobook Market

Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...

13/03/2025

Spotify Audiobooks Launches a New Publishing Program for Independent Authors

At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...

13/03/2025

Evolving EO/IR Technology For All-Domain Airborne Law Enforcement

Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...

13/03/2025

Craft Interview: Jamie McCombs, Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio

Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...

13/03/2025

Craft Interview: Paul Sandweiss, Production Sound Mixer/Audio Director

On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...

13/03/2025

Riedel To Showcase New StageLink Smart Edge Devices At 2025 NAB Show

WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...

13/03/2025

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring for VOS360 Streaming Workflows at the 2025 NAB Show

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...

13/03/2025

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage Platform that Empowers Video Teams to Scale Effortlessly

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...

13/03/2025

Ajit Pai Appointed President of CTIA

CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...

13/03/2025

NAB: FCC's 60 Minutes Investigation Is Unconstitutional, Invalid

he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...

13/03/2025

CBS Miami to Launch AR Coverage of Weather and Sports for March Madness

MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...

13/03/2025

Meet the co-founder and chief customer success & innovation officer

Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...

13/03/2025

FCC Chairman Carr Launches Massive Deregulation Initiative

WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...

13/03/2025

SDVI Integrates Rally With Spectra Vail

SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...

13/03/2025

FCC Approves Gray's Acquisition of KXLT

ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...

13/03/2025

NAB Show 2025 Exhibitor Insight: Blackmagic Design

TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...

13/03/2025

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions. ...

13/03/2025

Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content

Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...

13/03/2025

Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew Cross

Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...

13/03/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size on Completing Customizable Studios for All Clients

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...

13/03/2025

IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036; Add Digital Projects, Initiatives

IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...

13/03/2025

NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical Video Feed, Mascot Mode, and Popular Boss Button

NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...

13/03/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive Experience for Daytona, The PLAYERS, and March Madness

SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...

13/03/2025

Sky Business Launches Cloud Voice A New Cloud Communication Solution for UK Businesses

Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...

13/03/2025

Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark for F band applications

Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...

13/03/2025

The ICG Marketing Survey 2025

We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey. Our 2025 survey p...

13/03/2025

Harmonic Amps Up Video Streaming Efficiency with New Origin Capabilities

SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...

13/03/2025

Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025

Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025 Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme Connecting the Present, Building the Future Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...

13/03/2025

2025-03-13

A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...

13/03/2025

Italia 90 Republic of Ireland Squad, Riverdance, Cian Ducrot & B*Witched on Friday's Late Late Show

Here is your host, Patrick Kielty! Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...

13/03/2025

RT Celebrating all things Irish this St. Patrick's Weekend

This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...

13/03/2025

GTC 2025 - Announcements and Live Updates

What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...

13/03/2025

T-Mobile, Thales and SIMPL ease IoT deployments with a flexible and secure connectivity solution

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...

13/03/2025

Relive the Magic as GeForce NOW Brings More Blizzard Gaming to the Cloud

Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library. Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...

13/03/2025

Gaming Goodness: NVIDIA Reveals Latest Neural Rendering and AI Advancements Supercharging Game Development at GDC 2025

AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...

13/03/2025

Drop It Like It's Mod: Breathing New Life Into Classic Games With AI in NVIDIA RTX Remix

PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...

12/03/2025

Como o Impacto Cultural e Financeiro da Indstria Musical Define Seu Sucesso em 2025

O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...

12/03/2025

Cmo el impacto cultural y financiero de la industria musical define su xito en 2025

Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...

12/03/2025

Nourish Mind, Body, and Soul This Ramadan With Spotify

Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...

12/03/2025

How the Music Industry's Cultural and Financial Impact Define Its Success in 2025

Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...

12/03/2025

FAST now transcends back catalog content

More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...

12/03/2025

Viamedia Adopts ShowSeeker Pilot To Streamline Ad Workflows

GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...

12/03/2025

Mediagenix Appoints Wael Yasin as Sales Director Central Europe

BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....

12/03/2025

Omdia: Global Online Consumer Expenditure to Hit $6.6 Trillion by 2029

LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...

12/03/2025

Comcast Technology Solutions Upgrades to Interra Systems BATON Version 9

CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....