Fall Out Boy’s International Tour
A Jands Vista S3 console and two Jands D1 Playback Processors are being used by designer, Robb Jibson of So Midwest, Inc. to provide lighting and media control for American rockers, Fall Out Boy’s current 2015 / 2016 international tour.
The high-profile US rock band are touring in support of their 2015 album American Beauty / American Psycho, currently undertaking UK and European Arena shows throughout October, following a series of US dates over the Summer.
A long-time Jands Vista user, Robb is taking the S3 and D1 combination on the entire tour. The custom setup consists of the S3 control surface, which is connected to an Apple i7 Mac Mini running the award-winning Vista v2 software, and a Wacom Cintiq Multi Touch pen tablet surface built into a custom case. The system runs with an identical back up and two Vista D1 Playback Processors, which are rack-mounted in a road-case.
“There are a total of 15,496 parameters on the tour, ” says Robb. “The Vista controls all the lighting fixtures and elements of the mBox media server that are Art-Net merged within the Time Code Controller. The D1 processors are needed due to the parameter counts, and I have to say they are performing amazingly well. They simply sit on the network and work – that is the beauty of them! ”
In addition to the massive effects lighting rig, which includes dozens of Aryton Magic Panels, Magic Rings and Clay Paky B-Eye in full parameter count modes, the show set includes a large LED screen situated high above the front of the action, a huge LED wall at the back, and LED screen strips on the three staircases centre-stage. A variety of media content appears throughout the show, including live camera feeds and striking visuals designed by Robb in his capacity as production designer, in collaboration with a creative team of animators.
“The set is custom made and faced with 6mm magnetic video tiles,” says Robb. “Being able to control all the intensity levels of the mBox map surfaces in a matrix (using Vista’s pixel mapper) gives some really cool looks and functionality!”
The Jands Vista D1 expands the DMX processing capabilities of the entire Vista range and connects via Ethernet to any Vista system – providing an additional 8192 channels (16 DMX universes) per unit.
Inside the D1 there’s a high performance Intel processor, 16GB of RAM, a Solid State Drive and dual gigabit Ethernet connections to maximise playback performance and minimise latency. Fixtures can either be connected to the D1 over a network using Art-Net or sACN, or directly via the D1’s eight DMX outputs.
“The Jands Eco system allows me to control the show with the most respect to the timings of things,” Robb continues. “It allows me to quickly dial in timings that are accurate to the musical notations, and get them right. Constraining all the parameters into timing blocks and being able to adjust them without losing the timings is a joy! I also really love the fixture selection and sorting, being able to think less of fixture numbers and ordering, and more about the overall show goal!”
“Jands continues to innovate – the Vista system really is designed beautifully. ”
Following the October Fall Out Boy shows, which include dates in the UK, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Russia, the band will return to North America for a series of dates through December, February and March.
Equally at home on tour or as a venue’s house console, Jands Vista is ideal for shows and special events, arena touring, lighting companies, AV companies, venues and rental, not to mention a fantastic investment for a designer.
Jands’ award-winning Vista lighting & media control system has been embraced by leading designers, production & rental companies, and venues all over the world on a wide range of shows. Covering entertainment, education & drama, installations, corporate, events and worship, there’s a Vista system to suit all levels of user and almost any scale of show.
Recent shows featuring lighting or media control by Vista include international concert tours by Florence + The Machine, Bring Me The Horizon, Kylie Minogue, Queen + Adam Lambert, and Dierks Bentley.