volume 1 issue 9 2008 - Mobile Production Pro

Now that’s how it’s done!When mPm started trying to getaccess to the Rascal Flattsshow two years ago, we knew thatthere was something very seriousgoing with that production. Wefinally put it together to catch theshow when the current tour camethrough Atlanta and all expectationswere met and exceeded.This band is only nine years in thesaddle and already it has the look ofsomething that will pay for the mortgagesand children’s tuitions of thosewho are smart enough to hang ontothis career opportunity.Tour manager, Jake LaGrone spoketo the meteoric climb of this band,“In today’s climate it really hashappened pretty fast. I know thatit may not seem that way to theguys (in the band) because they’rein the middle of it and they’veworked real hard. They’re realhumble about it and they don’ttake anything for granted.”LaGrone went on to say that theband sees value in rolling backinto the show, “The guys invest inthemselves and their career. They understandwhat it takes to take a show out onthe road and compete and try to get thefans to come back year after year.”The most obvious part of this show wasthat it was very video heavy. The videopresentation was made up of three highresolution O-Light walls upstage. AnLED star drop filled the area betweenthe wall and gives extra punch the videowalls.The center video panel was obscuredby a low resolution video drape thatwrapped around a huge spiral staircasejust downstage of the center high-respanel. The staircase, aptly dubbed the“silo,” houses a group of dancers whodanced on various levels of the silo thatrose the full height of the upstage wall.The effect of the three layer visual presentationcarried a heavy impact. Thecontent of the lo-res screen was suchthat it complimented the high-res imagerywhile allowing the silhouette of thedancers to play through when that wasneeded. There were also times when thedancers seemed to blend into the imageand disappear.The lighting system on this show wasmade up exclusively of Vari-Lite units.The system was used more in a theatricalsense than many shows with thismuch activity. That is to say the onemobile production monthly 27