The Rady Shell

“As a touring LD and having worked in many venues over my years on the road, I knew we wanted the design to be very tour friendly, rider friendly and LD friendly,” San Diego Symphony Technical Director and lighting designer on the project Jason Rothberg states. “A super simple, clean, symmetrical design that uses only a few fixture types, something anyone could come in and clone from to make any kind of show happen.”

While ease of use was essential, the rig had to work best for the venue’s resident symphony orchestra, which meant lots of top down white light. With trim heights ranging from 25-40 feet, they needed a fixture that could get wide enough at the lower trims but then stay bright enough from the higher positions. Moreover, sitting right on the ocean, moisture, dew, and worst of all salt-air, were problems to contend with so a fully IP-rated rig was a must.

The original spec listed a wash, a profile and a spot fixture but Rothberg found the Proteus Maximus could do it all in one fixture. “I went from three fixture types to one fixture type that could do the same thing and then some. Plus it gave me a purer white, was brighter and had CMY!”

37 Proteus Maximus hang from five overhead electrics while 12 units work from six towers that range from 120 to 320 feet from the stage. “Even in red and from 320 ft. away the Maximus is insanely bright hitting the stage,” says Rothberg. The six towers also house 36 Paladin Cube™ RGBW floodlights that set the towers aglow from within, adding to the immersive feel. Joining the Maximus fixtures on all five overhead electrics are 34 IP65-rated Proteus Rayzor 760™ wash and specialty effect lights used as washlights or eye-candy pixel effects.

Paladin Panels™, outdoor LED floodlights with custom City Theatrical egg crate louvers, work from electrics 2-5 for homogenous toplight washes for the orchestra while doubling as strobe lights for other shows. Providing front light are WW Profile HP IP™, high power LED ellipsoidals.

Rothberg consulted with Jason Reberski at JRLX to hash out the details of the lighting package. “The demands placed on it would be tremendous,” Reberski states. “
Ease of use was essential but the rig had to work best for the venue’s resident symphony orchestra, which meant lots of top down white light. With trim heights ranging from 25-40 feet, they needed a fixture that could get wide enough at the lower trims but then stay bright enough from the higher positions. Meanwhile, with lighting positions on towers 120 to 320 feet from the stage, the fixture needed to be powerful. Moreover, sitting right on the ocean, moisture, dew, and worst of all salt-air, were problems to contend with so a fully IP-rated rig was a must.

The original spec listed a wash, a profile and a spot fixture but Rothberg found the Proteus Maximus could do it all in one fixture. “I went from three fixture types to one fixture type that could do the same thing and then some. Plus it gave me a purer white, was brighter and had CMY!”

Rothberg acknowledges other challenges to overcome along the way, for example lighting angles that required custom self-leveling hangers. The Covid downtime gave them ample time to find solutions however, ultimately producing a system consistent with the high artistic and functional standards of The Rady Shell. “I’m super happy with the way everything has worked out,” Rothberg says. “Going with Elation, we were able to double the fixture count while maintaining the quality, performance and brightness. It’s a rig the Symphony will benefit from for years to come.”

Besides the ability to provide the high quality of light required for a world-class orchestra and venue, along with covering massive throw distances, the rig can cover a wide range of musical genres no matter who graces its stage. Plus, the lighting system is all LED, meaning the venue is saving on power, maintenance, and expendable costs like bulbs versus a traditional rig of halogen fixtures.