The British rock band Genesis recently toured Germany, Europe as well as North America. Genesis’ “The Last Domino” tour was an inspiring, emotional journey with 47 shows worldwide. After 13 years of abstinence, fans were able to experience the band live again. Along for the ride, the FOLLOW-ME 3D System from FOLLOW-ME Tracking Solutions.
Woodroffe Design Draft
Lighting designer Roland Greil of Woodroffe Bassett Design, together with Patrick Woodroffe (show director of the tour), created the lighting design for the tour. The latter has been involved in the past on the tours of Genesis as well as the solo tours of Phil Collins.
Through his positive experience with the FOLLOW-ME 3D system, he felt it was important to use a remote followspot system.
“The system offers the ability to integrate an unlimited number of manufacturer-independent fixtures and has proven to be very reliable,” said Patrick Woodroffe
Latest innovation in followspot systems
The FOLLOW-ME 3D SIX system is the latest innovation in followspot and performer tracking systems.
“A Genesis show is challenging in itself, and in a very positive way. This particular band has been pushing the boundaries in our industry since the ’70s, and you have to honor that by creating a show that lives up to expectations and demands. Although it was a big challenge for Patrick and me, at the same time it was very exciting to work on this show and create something that the whole team is proud of,” explains Roland Greil
In total, the show used over 160 fixtures integrated into the FOLLOW-ME system. Some of the fixtures were on moving trusses with PSN integration. These are perfect for control with the FOLLOW-ME 3D SIX system and allow for PSN in and out. This system is definitely a powerful addition to a lighting rig.
The setup and operator position of the FOLLOW-ME Rack Server is done in about 15 minutes. Built into a Neg Earth Touring Rack that can be easily rolled into place at the venue.
On the Genesis Tour, the cameras (1 x live, 1 x redundant) were positioned on an easily accessible truss directly in front of the stage. The low profile makes them unobtrusive and does not interfere with any other elements of the show. Camera calibration is quick and only 5 calibration points are required on stage.
Easy operation of the system
Bianca Mastroianni, the FOLLOW-ME technician for the tour, checks the camera calibration and sets the textures after arriving at the venue, this takes about 90 minutes, then all 160 textures are perfectly calibrated and ready to use. It also usually takes less than 15 minutes to train operators on the system, even if they haven’t used a similar Followspot system before, or have little technical knowledge.
“The ability to convert any moving light in the rig into a followspot, some really impressive visuals to create. The amount of labor, time and materials saved by not using conventional followspots is tremendous.” finds Bianca Mastroianni
New features and improvements
The FOLLOW-ME system remains completely independent and can be used with any moving light that is movable in the pan and tilt axis. Thus, any device located in the rig can be used both as a show light and as a chaser by Follow-Me. It is completely irrelevant whether spotlights of one type or a mix of different devices are selected. Follow-Me thus achieves a high degree of flexibility.
