Rapper Pitbull hit the road recently with his “Bad Man’ tour in the U.S. which
featured a production design by Gabriel Fraboni and Michael Smalley of creative
practice Twin Design, complete with 46 x Robe BMFL Spots on the rig which were
the main profile fixtures.
Twin Designs has worked with the artist for two years, although this was the first
full production design they had essentially created specifically for Pitbull, as the
previous tour had been a co-headliner with Enrique Iglesias.
Their brief included creating all the playback video content as well as designing the
lighting and video systems and the set. Having control over all these visual
elements enabled them to create a streamlined and harmonious show which
Smalley operated and directed on the road.
Having worked with Pitbull for two years, they had a good idea of the style and
aesthetics he and his team like. Taking this as a starting point, they added their
own ideas and imagination also taking suggestions from key individuals on the tour
… including production manager Max Kernich.
“They are a fantastic team to work with and really trust us as designers which is
fantastic,’ commented Smalley.
The BMFL Spots were located on a series of V-shaped trusses flown over the stage,
with eight in a line upstage on the deck adding a powerful aerial presence. The V
trusses were designed to bring a multi-layered diamond shaped architecture to the
performance space, and they also provided a neat and practical solution to combine
the lighting and video hardware together.
Video is a key aspect of Pitbull’s live shows and reinforces many of his raw and
edgy narratives, so any lighting used had to be effective against the three large
sections of Winvision LED surface upstage.
That was one of the reasons for picking BMFL – they needed a lightsource with
serious attitude!
Fraboni and Smalley were introduced to BMFLs by Greg Ellis who works with
innovative electronic artist Pretty Lights, when they and Twin Design client
Bassnectar collaborated on a “Bass Light’ show … with Smalley operating.
Ellis was extremely enthusiastic about the BMFLs and Fraboni and Smalley have
been using them ever since … so they are now well acquainted with the brightness
and quality.
For the Pitbull tour, the BMFL Spots were the workhorse lights of the show, where
big, boisterous beam looks and stunning in-the-face aerial gobo scenes created
major impact, making bold statements and accents in a lively blend of raw and
rhythmic lighting.
The BMFLS were supplied by the tour’s lighting and video vendor, VER.
Lighting crew chief Joe Gonzales was joined by Shawn Gallen who looked after FOH
and technicians Sam Raphael, Dan Rodriguez, with Mikey Brancato on dimmers.
