From left to right Shaun Weager, Ross Noble, and Chris Taylor. (Image courtesy of Pete Callow)

The production behind British comedian Ross Noble's latest stand-up tour 'Brain Dump' has turned to a tourable lighting control system for the first time. The team has invested in an Avolites Titan Mobile console to power the eccentrically brilliant set, made of giant inflatable light bulbs each with a LED light source at its core.

A mock-up of the LED lighitng installation.

Production manager Shaun Weager, who has worked with Noble since 2012, came up with the 16-ft high dream-like design in response to a creative brief Noble ingeniously constructed using his daughter's Play-Doh. Every one of the 59 inflatable bulbs' internal LEDs has its own RGB panel through which Weager powers vibrant chases and isolation effects using the Avolites Titan Mobile.
 

The inflatable LED lightbulb installations lit up at the Ross Noble Comedy Tour arranged in different colors using Avolites Titan Mobile console.

"Shaun needed a small but powerful and highly portable lighting control solution," says Pete White, Sales Manager of Stage Electrics that supplied the console. "Stage Electrics has been an Avolites master dealer and stockist for a number of years and we knew the Avolites Titan Mobile was perfect for the job; its compact format combined with the live playback features made it the obvious choice."

New to Avolites, this presented Weager with the opportunity to get to grips with one of the brand's most popular consoles. The wealth of online training videos, intuitive user interface of Titan version 10 and support of the Avolites team meant he could quickly master the desk's functionality.

Avolites Titan Mobile switch the inflatable light bulbs to a blue hue.

"When I first arrived in Australia I was looking for an Avolites Pearl operator to assist with the initial show programming," says Weager. "I tweeted on social media about it and Avolites replied, putting me in touch with one of their Brisbane-based suppliers. The supplier then found a programmer in Perth called Chris Taylor who helped me program the show! That level of support was great."

White of Stage Electrics agrees: "The Avolites range of products offers our customers an excellent set of features with great back up and support from the Avolites team."  

The compact yet powerful Titan Mobile weighs in at 4.9kg, is USB powered and easily fits in the Avolites branded laptop bag it's supplied with - making it perfect for touring with limited space and weight restrictions. Despite its size, the Titan Mobile offers 10 playbacks with assignable controls, 20 macro buttons, and a full programming surface. The Titan software offers all the functionality of the full range, which allows seamless transfer between consoles for different situations.

"It's like owning a bespoke desk," says Weager. "Having the Avolites Titan Mobile console on tour has definitely made everything so much easier and I can't see any future set, not including this control element. I feel like I now have the headspace to really evolve my lighting designs and push the limits of the show. It feels good to know we have this element of production covered well into the future."

Avolites lighting installation a Ross Noble Comedy Tour.

Following a stint in Australia at the beginning of the year, Noble's UK tour kicked off in September 2016 and will continue to February 2017. Tickets are on-sale now.