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Andris Kasparovics selects Elation for Pat McGann special

Pat McGann’s first Comedy Dynamics original special, “Sebastian Maniscalco Presents Pat McGann: When’s Mom Gonna Be Home?”, premiered on streaming services July 28th, 2020. Shot last September at the 1000-seat Vic Theatre in Chicago, Andris Kasparovics lit two sold-out evenings using a combination of Elation Artiste Van Gogh and Elation Dartz 360 LED luminaires.

Head of creative and principal designer for Sight Unseen Studios, Kasparovics has been doing shows with Comedy Dynamics since 2012. For the Pat McGann special, he worked with Chicago-based production company JRLX to secure the Elation fixtures and was one of the first to get his hands on the Artiste Van Gogh.

Kasparovics explains that he has been aiming to get away from the traditional practice of using followspots as key lighting on stand-up comedy specials, a method that goes way back to the early days of stand-up. “It’s a good traditional look for live shows but TV is much less forgiving, and you need a precision that takes extra time we often do not have”, he says. “Frequently we shoot in venues that do not have ideal spot positions, stage depth, or other physical constraints that make it difficult to implement a followspot correctly. What I like to do then is to use a static key lighting position that allows for the most flexibility.”

Working with lighting programmer Robb Jibson, Kasparovics used the Artiste Van Gogh wash luminaires to get an even wash across the stage. “We had a 40-foot throw and dialed them down to 30%”, he says. Using the fixture’s shutters, frost, and CTO corrected to 3400k, eight units provided key lighting covering the 20-foot wide stage from their FOH position. With a choice of PC or Fresnel lens (both included with the fixture), Kasparovics chose the PC lens. “I did a shootout with both lenses and the PC lens won, giving me the best quality of light on camera”, he explains.

Kasparovics also chose Elation’s Dartz 360 LED beam/spot moving head for McGann’s Comedy Dynamics special. “As a visual effect, I like using multiples of the same fixture type in an array or grouping to get a fuller aerial look,” the designer shares, noting that in the past he has often used Sharpys or Platinum Beams to achieve that look. Kasparovics placed 18 Dartz lined against the upstage scenic wall to project aerial beams over the comedian. The fixtures executed a fly out and coordinated chase for both the opening and exit cues while staying static in white with a linear dots gobo during the show.

(Photos: Andris Kasparovics)

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