One of the biggest challenges on the recent Barbra Streisand Back To Brooklyn tour was the major video shoot at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with a lot of extra gear. “It is a vertical building, not a lot of room to spread out, and a steeper angle than usual,” says lighting designer Peter Morse. “The rigging was 100’ in the air, while the normal trim height for lights on the audience is 30-40’, here we had to make the trim higher than usual. “ We want to know the audience is there, with soft breakups to not blind them or distract them from the show.”
The LD added extra Philips Vari-Lite VL 3500 wash and 3000 spots, as well as additional followspots for the shoot. “The Lycian M2s we carried with us were great back light spots. We used them on a standard truss plus whatever house spots were available, color corrected as best we could,” explains Morse, who added Lycian 1290s for the DVD shoot at Barclays Center. “We eliminated the spot truss and put in a proper bridge for the followspots to get a better angle, with six spots on the bridge—three and three, slighting off center, she was lit slightly off-center, which I like frankly”
Morse notes that on Streisand’s last tour, the only video was I-Mag, but this time, for the DVD shoot, a full Austrian surround was projected upon, with a three-minute history of Barbra, then the 360 Kabuki would drop, the overture was played and she would appear in the center. “After Brooklyn, there was just a screen center stage, a roll drop, with her history, a moment singing with Judy Garland,” Morse adds.
Later in the show, a tribute to Marvin Hamlisch also had images, the only video during a song, and another montage with a short interview about Barbra coming back to Brooklyn, and a video her son Jason gave her for her birthday, as an introduction to him as he came on stage.
Video director Jerry McReynolds describes the video system: “Basically, the front end was a Sony MVS8000 HD switcher. Three ME's, program going to two 20x12 RP side screens on 12" box t-truss, with two Barco HDX-W18 HD 18k projectors underslung, stacked on each side shooting rear projection. ME-1 went to a 30' rolldrop screen, which was hung upstage center and was used for the beginning of the second act for its intro. After the intro it rolled up. It was also used at the end of Act 2 for an intro video her son Jason made for her for her birthday.”
There were also two Panasonic PT-DZ21 projectors FP from downstage truss. ME-2 went to eight Panasonic PT-DZ21 21k projectors which projected onto four scrims, the downstage and upstage approximately 60' x 40' and the two sides close to 40' x 40' The front scrim was projected FP and the others RP from inside the truss. Two Panasonic 21k's projectors per scrim, all Ethernet controlled.
Addition video gear:
5 Sony HXC100 HD manned cameras
3 FOH long lenses: 1 center, 1 HR, 1 HL
2 HH cameras in pit DSR and DSL
4 Sony BRCH700 HD remote cameras, 1 FOH for wide shot
1 USL, 1 USR, and one USC in the seats. Serial controlled by operator backstage.
Playback: 2 AJA Kipro's via web browser interface
1 Doremi V1HD
2 Ki Pro's recording line cut and wide shot, as well as recording DVD's
15" Apple Macbook Pro quad core 2.6Ghz laptop w/retina display with Final Cut Pro X