How do we create visual impact

Friday, October 2, 2009 by Jon Schwarz

How do we create visual impact with a shows design, and how does that impact relate to production cost? I recently had a discussion with Scott Moore who designed the lights and set for the Revolve tour. He had just gone to see the new U2 show which is the largest tour in history playing 360 in stadiums. The show is epic from a production standpoint, with hundreds of semi’s and buses. The operating budget is in the millions per week. It was truly impressive to hear how a tour of that size runs. But that brought us to our tour that carried only 2 semi’s of gear. Our show is very compact and yet is one of the most visually stunning shows I have seen. Lights and truss are used in such a way with a custom set to make this tour on a budget feel huge. U2 created impact with the sheer size of their show and virtually unlimited budget; we have created impact with creative and strategic designs to meet our budget and leave a lasting impact on our audience.