Atlantis Events celebrated its 15th anniversary with a special event commemorating the Caribbean cruise line for being the leading gay cruise company. The company charters entire flagships from different cruise lines for its holidays, and in this case, the vessel was the 2,200 passenger Infinity from the Celebrity line. The large pool deck was set up with a stunning laser and light show for five all-night DJ parties, celebrating the occasion.
Lighting equipment was supplied by Paradigm Lighting of Fort Lauderdale, FL. The rig was designed, crew chiefed, tech’d, programmed and operated buy Guy Smith of Guy Smith Lighting, also the resident designer for Atlantis and a veteran of 27 cruises. Smith used Robe ColorSpot 1200AT profiles and ColorWash 1200AT wash fixtures.
The ship's crew built and helped maintain the rig and production management and logistics for the special celebratory event was handled by John Finen III.
Smith previously used Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs on some local shows in New York, and also conducted extensive research into the fixtures. Up to this point, he had mainly used them as long throw programmable spots because of “Their superior optics and movement”. He then used 16 of them as part of a larger rig for a Deborah Cox New Year’s concert in Los Angeles, and was “So impressed I decided to use them again as soon as I could.”
After thorough testing and inspection, he concludes, “They are very bright, clear, and durable. I like the movement, and the standard selection of gobos is excellent.” Not wanting to repeat the light show he used on recent cruises over the last two years, he began investigating where he could source Robes for the Atlantis 15th anniversary show.
For the show, the ground-supported trusses were constructed on the deck of the ship and lifted into position by the ship’s technical crew. The Robes arrived tech’d from Paradigm, and 16 ColorSpot 1200ATs and 10 ColorWash 1200 ATs were hung from a variety of positions; rigged to the trusses and pipes over the existing ship’s stage, and on either side of the pool, about 20 feet above the 11th deck level. They were all controlled by a WholeHog II console and wing.
The shows ran outdoors on the ship over the course of a week, complete with sea spray, windy nights, and hot sun beating down on the fixtures all day long. “They didn’t have any problems at all with the weather” Smith reports, adding, “They are very rugged fixtures.”
“I’ll definitely be using Robe again,” he adds. “In fact, I plan to do so whenever I can.” He is already asking other vendors if they can procure them depending on where he is working. “The new Robes are destined to be the workhorses of my shows for the foreseeable future” he concludes.