16th Jun 2006 - Zero 88 goes on tour with Noise Ensemble.

Noise Ensemble, the percussion spectacular, is produced by Louder than Words and features a group of 10 virtuoso percussionists performing an original Hollywood blockbuster style score by film composer Ethan Lewis Maltby. A unique theatrical experience, Noise Ensemble fuses together dance, comedy, video and lighting with a thrilling score performed on over 100 different percussion instruments. Production Designer, Ben M. Rogers, specified the Frog 2 for the production, which is touring the UK throughout 2006.

The show runs at just over 2 hours and includes over 400 lighting cues, operated by touring production electrician Adam Bullock. Whilst the main cues are built within the cue stacks, Adam also makes use of the Frog 2’s extended functionality with smoke machines, custom effects and front of house also being controlled via the desks UDF’s (user defined faders). Ben notes “variations in air conditioning, dimmer curves and stage sizes meant that it was necessary to have live control of certain elements of the design. The Frog 2’s smart system architecture has allowed me to blend the theatrical needs of the design with the more rock and roll requirements of nightly touring.”

The show has just completed a short tour of Russia and is now back in the UK with forthcoming shows in Southampton, Canterbury, Guernsey, York and Bradford. The UK tour finishes at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on July 21st. An Autumn tour is already scheduled for Holland and Belgium and the expectation of further UK and International touring in 2007.

The lighting for the UK tour is supplied by Stage Electrics, who are also supplying sound, rigging and transport. The Frog 2 is being used to control the lighting rig which includes 36 Martin Professional fixtures comprising: Mac 600NTs (10), Mac 500s (14), Mac 300s (6), 250+s (3) and Atomic 3000 Strobes (3). It is also running Jem smoke and haze machines, low foggers and bubble machines as well 10 circuits of customized Electroluminescent wire which are built into the set for effect. In total the rig uses 3 universes of DMX on the Frog 2, including the in-house dimming for Front of House.

Talking about the Frog Ben Rogers commented “As with all consoles the Frog 2 was not without its teething troubles. The recent release of Version 3 of the software offers the most stable and functional system to date. The flexibility of the desk to cover theatre, rock and roll and corporate work is unquestionable and Zero 88’s methodical and detailed approach to the programming interface takes into account the needs of both operators and designers. The comparably low cost of the desk in the marketplace is also sure to find favour with production accountants! Whilst there have been some software issues in the development of the desk these were dealt with smoothly and efficiently by the team at Zero 88 and, to date, we have not experienced any issues during the live presentation of the shows. With the continued success of Noise Ensemble I am now considering investing in a second desk in order to cover my other forthcoming projects.”

The show also includes some 50 video cues including live camera work, custom abstract media and “Noise TV” segments. For the future tours Ben is looking to integrate the video for the production with the lighting cues, a requirement for which Zero 88’s media partnership with Arkaos should easily facilitate.


Production Design: Ben M Rogers
Video Media Design: Ben M Rogers, James Marks and Orhan Boztas
Lighting, Rigging and Audio Supplied by Matt Townsend for Stage Electrics
Production Photos courtesy of Paul Brown
Produced by Louder Than Words