On Thursday June 23rd, legendary concert and live event designer Gary Westcott will share his knowledge of projections and lighting at the first ever Projection Master Classes at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City.
Westcott will share the stage with Mats Karlson for a seminar entitled Projections in Rock n’ Roll. It is an apt title for Westcott as he has designed the lighting and projections—sometimes both—for acts as varied as Jay-Z, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Prince, Eagles, Guns N’ Roses, and many, many more. Westcott will be sharing his own experiences in a career that has lasted 20 years. He will touch upon his education in the UK but will emphasize that the real education comes from actually getting your hands dirty and doing your craft. He will use a number of examples from his various projects throughout his career on the use of video projection and mixing media. On that topic, he will also discuss how the lines between lighting and video are starting to blur and how the modern designer must be adept at dealing with both.
Westcott’s illustrious career as a concert and live event production, video, and lighting designer and director has included numerous tours with Jay-Z, including The Best Of Both Worlds Tour with R. Kelly, Rocca-Fella Family Concert in Detroit, and Jay-Z & Friends at Madison Square Garden. Westcott was the lighting designer and video director for the 2000, 2001, and 2004 Egg Lake Festival on San Juan Island. Other notable concert work includes 2003/2004 SummerSonic Festival in Japan; 2004 Hot 97 Summer Jam at Giant Stadium; 2003 Eagles Farewell 1, 2, and 3 Tours (video, lighting, and content director); and the 2002 One Night alone with Prince World Tour (production designer, video, lighting and content director).
From 1999-2000, Westcott worked as programmer and assistant director on Bon Jovi’s Crush world tour, Kiss Psycho Circus tour, and Tina Turner’s 24-7 world tour. Live event work includes lighting designer and production director of Jean Michel Jarre’s Twelve Dreams of the Sun, 2000 Millennial Celebration at the Giza Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt; and Jaeger LaCoutre, Geneva World exhibition system (lighting and video direction and consultant).
The inaugural Projection Master Classes are part of the Entertainment Design Master Classes, which consists of the Broadway Lighting Master Classes (June 20-22), the Broadway Sound Master Classes (June 22-24), and the EDDY Awards. There is still time to register for the event; click here for more info.